HASC Dems Press To Resume Korea Wargames; Trump Tweets Vs. Intel Community

US-South Korean exercise, 2016 WASHINGTON: A baker’s dozen of defense House Democrats have asked the Trump Administration to resume military exercises with South Korea, telling the acting Defense Secretary that the suspension “may be undermining readiness for little benefit.” Led by Rep. Rick Larsen, a senior member of the HASC subcommittees on both strategic forces and intelligence & emerging threats, they say in the letter to Acting Secretary Patrick Shanahan that the timing of bilateral exercises should be “dictated by national security interests, not the whims of the Pyongyang regime.” When President Trump suspended the exercises by the US and South Korea, he repeated the arguments of Kim Il Sung that they were “war games” that were “very provocative.” In his own inimitable style, he added in a June 17 tweet that the exercises were “VERY EXPENSIVE.” The Democrats issued their letter one day after CIA Director Gina Haspel told the Senate Intelligence Committee that North Korea remains “committed to developing a long-range nuclear-armed missile that would pose a direct threat to the United States.” That assessment reflects the consensus of the Intelligence Community, which presented its annual global threats estimate to the Senate yesterday. …Time will tell what will happen with North Korea, but at the end of the previous administration, relationship was horrendous and very bad things were about to happen. Now a whole different story. I look forward to seeing Kim Jong Un shortly. Progress being made-big difference! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2019 President Trump told the Intelligence Community in this tweet that there was a “big difference” in relations between North Korea and the US now, with “progress being made.” The Democrats counter that exercises with South Korea are “complementary to joint efforts to pressure North Korea.” These HASC Democrats signed the letter to Shanahan: Elaine Luria, Katie Hill, Susan Davis, Ruben Gallego, Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Filemon Vela, Andy Kim, Jason Crow, John Garamendi, Seth Moulton (who served four tours in Iraq with the Marines), William Keating and Salud Carbajal. The Intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive when it comes to the dangers of Iran. They are wrong! When I became President Iran was making trouble all over the Middle East, and beyond. Since ending the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal, they are MUCH different, but…. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2019 In what seems to be the consistent pattern whenever news coverage says someone disagrees with the president, Trump unleashed a Twitter shower (I don’t think this one rises to the level of a storm). After the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and others testified before the Senate that Iran was not pursuing the development of nuclear weapons, the president issued a morning tweet calling them “extremely passive and naive.” As a service to the community, here is the full lineup for HASC subcommittees, as released this week and last by the two parties (remember the Oversight & Investigations subcommittee no longer exists, as new chairman Adam Smith intends to take a more personal role in those matters): STRATEGIC FORCES Democrats: Rep. Jim Cooper, Chairman Rep. Susan Davis Rep. Rick Larsen Rep. John Garamendi Rep. Jackie Speier Rep. Seth Moulton Rep. Salud Carbajal Rep. Ro Khanna Rep. Bill Keating Rep. Kendra Horn Republicans: Rep. Mike Turner, Ranking Member Rep. Joe Wilson Rep. Rob Bishop Rep. Mike Rogers Rep. Mo Brooks Rep. Bradley Byrne Rep. Scott DesJarlais Rep. Liz Cheney READINESS Democrats: Rep. John Garamendi, Chairman Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Rep. Andy Kim Rep. Kendra Horn Rep. Chrissy Houlahan Rep. Jason Crow Rep. Xochitl Torres Small Rep. Elissa Slotkin Rep. Veronica Escobar Republicans: Rep. Doug Lamborn, Ranking Member Rep. Austin Scott Rep. Joe Wilson Rep. Rob Bishop Rep. Mike Rogers Rep. Mo Brooks Rep. Elise Stefanik Rep. Jack Bergman SEAPOWER & PROJECTION FORCES Democrats: Rep. Joe Courtney, Chairman Rep. Jim Langevin Rep. Jim Cooper Rep. Donald Norcross Rep. Seth Moulton Rep. Filemon Vela Rep. Gil Cisneros Rep. Mikie Sherrill Rep. Katie Hill Rep. Jared Golden Rep. Elaine Luria Republicans: Rep. Rob Wittman, Ranking Member Rep. Mike Conaway Rep. Mike Gallagher Rep. Jack Bergman Rep. Michael Waltz Rep. Vicky Hartzler Rep. Paul Cook Rep. Bradley Byrne Rep. Trent Kelly TACTICAL AIR & LAND FORCES Democrats: Rep. Donald Norcross, Chairman Rep. Jim Langevin Rep. Joe Courtney Rep. Ruben Gallego Rep. Salud Carbajal Rep. Anthony Brown Rep. Filemon Vela Rep. Xochitl Torres Small Rep. Mikie Sherrill Rep. Katie Hill Rep. Jared Golden Republicans: Rep. Vicky Hartzler, Ranking Member Rep. Paul Cook Rep. Matt Gaetz Rep. Don Bacon Rep. Jim Banks Rep. Paul Mitchell Rep. Mike Turner Rep. Doug Lamborn Rep. Rob Wittman INTELLIGENCE, EMERGING THREATS & CAPABILITIES Democrats: Rep. Jim Langevin, Chairman Rep. Rick Larsen Rep. Jim Cooper Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Rep. Anthony Brown Rep. Ro Khanna Rep. Bill Keating Rep. Andy Kim Rep. Chrissy Houlahan Rep. Jason Crow Rep. Elissa Slotkin Rep. Lori Trahan Republicans: Rep. Elise Stefanik, Ranking Member Rep. Sam Graves Rep. Ralph Abraham Rep. Mike Conaway Rep. Austin Scott Rep. Scott DesJarlais Rep. Mike Gallagher Rep. Michael Waltz Rep. Don Bacon Rep. Jim Banks MILITARY PERSONNEL Democrats: Rep. Jackie Speier, Chairwoman Rep. Susan Davis Rep. Ruben Gallego Rep. Gil Cisneros Rep. Veronica Escobar Rep. Deb Haaland Rep. Lori Trahan Rep. Elaine Luria Republicans: Rep. Trent Kelly, Ranking Member Rep. Ralph Abraham Rep. Liz Cheney Rep. Paul Mitchell Rep. Jack Bergman Rep. Matt Gaetz

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Rep. Andy Kim

HASC Dems Press To Resume Korea Wargames; Trump Tweets Vs. Intel Community

Posted on January 30, 2019

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