It is tempting to applaud President Trump for ignoring diplomatic niceties in order to engage the North Korean leader in an effort at peacemaking. Just go talk to the guy, what can it hurt? We can hope that it not only won’t hurt but will help. At least as long as they’re talking they’re not calling each other names and threatening nuclear war, right? Yet something done so wrong rarely comes out right. When career diplomats urge caution, and taking plenty of time, and an emphasis on verification, they are speaking from experience and history. They ought to be heeded. –Fletcher Farrar, editor and CEO
This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2018.
