Trump campaign vs. Trump administration: on War & Peace

Donald Trump: Disallow North Korea from developing nuclear delivery system

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said during his annual New Year's address that preparations for launching an intercontinental ballistic missile have "reached the final stage." The development came after the country claims it tested its first hydrogen bomb last year.

North Korea, which has been at odds with the United States since the start of the Korean War in 1950, first tested a nuclear weapon in 2006. A nuclear test was conducted last year on Jan. 6.

Donald Trump: If Venezuela unravels, why can't we invade?

The suggestion stunned those present at the meeting, who took turns explaining to Trump how military action could backfire and risk losing hard-won support among Latin American governments.

But Trump pushed back. Although he gave no indication he was about to order up military plans, he pointed to what he considered past cases of successful gunboat diplomacy in the region, like the invasions of Panama and Grenada in the 1980s.

The idea, despite his aides' best attempts to shoot it down, would nonetheless persist in the president's head. Shortly afterward, he raised the issue with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. Two high-ranking Colombian officials confirmed the report.

Donald Trump: Consider all options to restore Venezuela's democracy

A National Security Council spokesman reiterated that the US will consider all options at its disposal to help restore Venezuela's democracy and bring stability. Under Trump's leadership, the US, EU, and Canada have levied sanctions on dozens of top Venezuelan officials, including Venezuelan leader Maduro, over allegations of corruption and human rights abuses.

Maduro has long claimed that the U.S. has military designs on Venezuela and its vast oil reserves. Even some of the staunchest U.S. allies were begrudgingly forced to side with Maduro in condemning Trump's saber rattling.

Donald Trump: 2016: secret plan to defeat ISIS; 2018: caliphate gone

At the time, it seemed unlikely he would ever have to make good on the promise. However, Trump's surprise victory gave him the chance to back up his claim. Many were openly skeptical he could do it.

But one year into the Trump administration, the facts on the ground--in Syria and Iraq--have changed dramatically. The 'Caliphate' announced with such fanfare in the summer of 2014 was in tatters. "We have made, alongside our coalition partners, more progress against these evil terrorists in the past several months than in the past several years," Trump proclaimed last fall. So is ISIS now defeated?

President Trump deserves credit for hastening the downfall of their Caliphate. However, ISIS 2018 will launch an insurgency in its former territory. ISIS has access to electronic spaces where it can continue recruitment efforts.

Heritage Foundation: Stop ISIS from presenting itself as a credible government

Therefore, the Trump administration should accept that a huge amount of work lies ahead in the next three (or seven) years. The military, law enforcement and intelligence agencies will be at the forefront of the response. Yet stopping ISIS from presenting itself as a credible government in areas where it still retains a presence is also an important task. In those areas, the United States must help promote responsive and representative governance.

The administration must also frame the problem correctly. The Islamist threat will transcend any one presidency. Victory is not just around the corner. Nevertheless, the Trump administration could lay the groundwork for a strategy that will one day deliver it.

James Mattis: Pentagon was aware that 2003 Iraq invasion was a mistake

Mattis was one of the Iraq campaign's most important ground commanders. He led the 1st Marine Division during the invasion and later oversaw the bloody retaking of Fallujah from insurgents in 2004.

As for the Pentagon's view on the Iraq invasion at the time, Mattis said this: "I think people were pretty much aware that the U.S. military didn't think it was a very wise idea. But we give a cheery 'Aye aye, sir.' Because when you elect someone commander in chief--we give our advice. We generally give it in private." Mattis's comments came during a question-and-answer session after a keynote delivered last year at ASIS International, a conference for global security professionals.

James Mattis: Supports the Iran nuclear agreement

Mattis said he supported the Iran nuclear agreement, which Trump has repeatedly criticized.

James Mattis: Iran is single most enduring threat to stability and peace

James Mattis: North Korea must be stopped, but by diplomatic means

"This is a threat of both rhetoric and growing capability," Mattis said, alluding to the North's recent progress in building nuclear bombs and developing an intercontinental ballistic missile to deliver such weapons to U.S. soil. The Trump administration has been conducting a broad policy review of North Korea that includes military options, but Mattis stressed other approaches. "We are working diplomatically, including with those that we might be able to enlist in this effort to get North Korea under control," he said. "But right now it appears to be going in a very reckless manner. That's got to be stopped."

James Mattis: Keep U.S. troops in Syria indefinitely to defeat ISIS

The US has three missions to complete before it can withdraw. "One, we have to destroy ISIS. The President's been very clear that ISIS is to be taken out," Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on August 28th. "We also have to have trained local troops who can take over."

The Trump Administration also does not want to withdraw U.S. troops, Mattis said, until a peace process is under way to end the war in Syria and map the country's political future. "We need the Geneva process--the UN-recognized process--to start making traction towards solving this war," Mattis said. "Now, if the locals are able to keep the security, obviously during this time we might be reducing our troops commensurate with their ability to deny ISIS a return, but it really comes down to finding a way to solve this problem of Assad's making."

James Mattis: Shift from war of attrition against ISIS to annihilation

Secretary of Defense James Mattis outlined that President Trump "delegated authority to the right level to aggressively and in a timely manner move against enemy vulnerabilities." This meant that when those on the ground requested airstrikes, fewer layers of sign-off were required; the approval process was decentralized and, subsequently, faster.

Mattis has also said that another change was a "shift from shoving ISIS out of safe locations in an attrition fight to surrounding the enemy in their strongholds so we can annihilate ISIS." The purpose behind this, Mattis outlined, was to dry up the flow of foreign fighters leaving the region.

John Bolton: To stop Iran's bomb, bomb Iran

The Obama administration's increasingly frantic efforts to reach agreement with Iran have spurred demands for ever-greater concessions from Washington. The president's policy is empowering Iran, effectively handing a permit to Iran's nuclear weapons establishment.

The inescapable conclusion is that Iran will not negotiate away its nuclear program. Nor will sanctions block its building a broad and deep weapons infrastructure. The inconvenient truth is that only military action can accomplish what is required. Time is terribly short, but a strike can still succeed.

Rendering inoperable the Natanz and Fordow uranium-enrichment installations and the Arak heavy-water production facility and reactor would be priorities. Such action should be combined with vigorous American support for Iran's opposition, aimed at regime change in Tehran.

John Bolton: Advocated violent regime change in Tehran and Pyongyang

Mike Pompeo: I opposed Iran deal; I'll gather clear-eyed info about it

Mike Pompeo: OpEd: Supported Iraq war then & supports Iran war now

Paul serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where the GOP enjoys just a one-seat advantage. With Paul opposed, Pompeo could receive an unfavorable committee verdict, which would be a serious black mark on Pompeo's nomination.

Pompeo's previous pushes for regime change in Iran and his hawkish world view are also at odds with Trump and therefore he should not be given the job, Paul argued. "I'm perplexed by the nomination of people who love the Iraq War so much that they would advocate for a war with Iran next," Paul said. "it goes against most of the things Pres. Trump campaigned on, that the unintended consequences of regime change in Iraq led to instability in the Middle East."

Mike Pompeo: Caution with history of deceit by North Korea

He points to "the history of deceit" of the Kim regime, which overt the last 25 years has repeatedly reneged on commitments to curb its nuclear activities. At the CIA, where he established a center devoted to addressing North Korea, Pompeo has also been intimately acquainted with just how formidable the North Korean nuclear program has become. While he's characterized the Trump administration's ultimate goal as ridding North Korea of nuclear weapons, he's suggested that the administration's near-term objectives are more modest: keeping North Korea from progressing further than where it is, which is on the verge of perfecting the technology to place a nuclear warhead on an intercontinental ballistic missile that can reach the United States.

Mike Pompeo: Cease US joint military exercises with South Korea

Trump's meeting with Kim was long and productive, at least from the North Korean perspective. After the summit concluded, Trump announced that Pyongyang had "re-affirmed" its commitment to a denuclearized Korean peninsula and that the U.S. would cease its joint military exercises with South Korea, which he characterized as expensive and "very provocative."

The summit appeared to be a major win for North Korea based off the joint statement signed by the two leaders. One expert opined, "The president continues to say that Kim is giving up his nuclear weapons. Kim continues to refuse to promise that. I don't know how long they can keep fudging this."

Rex Tillerson: Opposed US sanctions against Russia over Crimea annexation

Tillerson opposed U.S. sanctions against Russia in 2014 over its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine because he thought they would be ineffective.

In 2012, Tillerson received the "Order of Friendship" award from Putin. The same year, Exxon deepened its cooperation with Russian oil company Rosneft to expand an oil drilling project in the Arctic after U.S. sanctions over Ukraine were imposed.

Rex Tillerson: Destroy the Islamic State; be wary of China's behavior

Rex Tillerson: Create right conditions for negotiations with North Korea

At the State Department and CIA, respectively, Tillerson and Pompeo have both prioritized the North Korean nuclear threat and focused on pressuring North Korea economically and diplomatically. But whereas Tillerson has expressed eagerness to create the right conditions for negotiations with North Korea, Pompeo has voiced profound skepticism about what such talks can accomplish.

Whereas Tillerson has been associated with a faction in the administration resistant to military options to deal with the North's nuclear program, Pompeo has taken a more aggressive position. Tillerson declared that the US wasn't seeking regime change in North Korea; Pompeo suggested ways to "separate" Kim Jong Un from his nuclear weapons.