Allies' common history and goals may be accented
U.S. President Donald Trump will make a speech at the National Assembly during his visit in early November. It would be a meaningful occasion to highlight the two allies' shared history and common future goals.
A larger-scale open-air speech would be more desirable but it is understandable that the proximity of Seoul, the most likely venue for it, to North Korea, would have made such a speech an act of derring-do. The deployment of two U.S. aircraft carriers plus other strategic assets near the Korean Peninsula during his Asian tour that will take him to Tokyo and Beijing, among other cities, shows the high level of security for the American leader against a potential North Korean provocation.
Against this backdrop, the Trump speech could be one of his finest moments by showing his willingness and capacity to resolve the North's nuclear brinkmanship, one made to look intractable by his predecessors such as Barack Obama. He could use it to dispel the growing skepticism about the U.S. commitment to the region amid a strong Chinese push for Asian supremacy.
For that, he could follow the pattern of his own July speech in Warsaw, Poland, but should aim to emulate JFK's 1963 speech on the U.S. spirit of fair competition and challenge at the American University.
As he did in the Polish speech, he should praise Korea for its miraculous transformation from a former colony of Japan to an industrial nation in its own right. One example is the June 1987 Struggle that forced an end to a series of dictatorships, while another is the recent peaceful candlelit revolution that brought justice to a corrupt leader. These are similar to Poland's Solidarity movement that ended communist rule in Poland with Trump complimenting its leader and former President Lech Walesa who was in the audience.
Then, there are too many moments of camaraderie in the blood-sealed alliance that pushed back the North's invasion during the 1950-1953 Korean War and helped keep the communists at bay during the Cold War. American General and U.N. Commander Douglas MacArthur merits a reference in his speech for leading Operation Chromite through a massive landing operation at Incheon to reclaim Seoul on Sept. 28, three months after the war broke out. Together, the retired Korean Army General Paik Sun-yup should be cited for his war contribution starting with his stint as commander of the ROK Army 1st Infantry Division to defend Seoul. He served together with the U.S. military throughout the war and beyond.
The most important element is about the future goals Trump has in mind about the North and the region as well. There is little doubt that he still has a large reservoir of invective against the North. But with the impressive display of the U.S. military deployed nearby, his peace proposal and guarantees for the North's survival would be louder than a discharge of any big gun. His peace overture would enable Trump to undercut Kim Jong-un's bluster immensely and put the world on notice for his forthcoming contributions to world peace, prosperity and, finally, optimism. These are American traits that had made Trump's country great. Now, he could restore them.
U.S. President Donald Trump will make a speech at the National Assembly during his visit in early November. It would be a meaningful occasion to highlight the two allies' shared history and common future goals.
A larger-scale open-air speech would be more desirable but it is understandable that the proximity of Seoul, the most likely venue for it, to North Korea, would have made such a speech an act of derring-do. The deployment of two U.S. aircraft carriers plus other strategic assets near the Korean Peninsula during his Asian tour that will take him to Tokyo and Beijing, among other cities, shows the high level of security for the American leader against a potential North Korean provocation.
Against this backdrop, the Trump speech could be one of his finest moments by showing his willingness and capacity to resolve the North's nuclear brinkmanship, one made to look intractable by his predecessors such as Barack Obama. He could use it to dispel the growing skepticism about the U.S. commitment to the region amid a strong Chinese push for Asian supremacy.
For that, he could follow the pattern of his own July speech in Warsaw, Poland, but should aim to emulate JFK's 1963 speech on the U.S. spirit of fair competition and challenge at the American University.
As he did in the Polish speech, he should praise Korea for its miraculous transformation from a former colony of Japan to an industrial nation in its own right. One example is the June 1987 Struggle that forced an end to a series of dictatorships, while another is the recent peaceful candlelit revolution that brought justice to a corrupt leader. These are similar to Poland's Solidarity movement that ended communist rule in Poland with Trump complimenting its leader and former President Lech Walesa who was in the audience.
Then, there are too many moments of camaraderie in the blood-sealed alliance that pushed back the North's invasion during the 1950-1953 Korean War and helped keep the communists at bay during the Cold War. American General and U.N. Commander Douglas MacArthur merits a reference in his speech for leading Operation Chromite through a massive landing operation at Incheon to reclaim Seoul on Sept. 28, three months after the war broke out. Together, the retired Korean Army General Paik Sun-yup should be cited for his war contribution starting with his stint as commander of the ROK Army 1st Infantry Division to defend Seoul. He served together with the U.S. military throughout the war and beyond.
The most important element is about the future goals Trump has in mind about the North and the region as well. There is little doubt that he still has a large reservoir of invective against the North. But with the impressive display of the U.S. military deployed nearby, his peace proposal and guarantees for the North's survival would be louder than a discharge of any big gun. His peace overture would enable Trump to undercut Kim Jong-un's bluster immensely and put the world on notice for his forthcoming contributions to world peace, prosperity and, finally, optimism. These are American traits that had made Trump's country great. Now, he could restore them.
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