Pentagon begins planning which South Korea exercises should be 'sped up, scaled back or suspended'

The U.S. military is making plans to restructure, scale down, and reschedule military training with South Korea, while ensuring troops remain at a high state of readiness, Pentagon officials said Tuesday.

“We will maintain the fighting readiness of our forces,” said one official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the policy is still being refined.

But several sources said training would continue without the high-profile "in-your-face” named exercises that are regularly announced and given aggressive code names such as Max Thunder and Key Resolve.

A statement is expected soon from the Pentagon in the wake of President Trump’s surprise announcement in Singapore that the U.S. is stopping joint “war games” with the South, “unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should.”

The Pentagon confirmed that the next major military exercise — Ulchi Freedom Guardian — is scheduled for the fall. A spokesman said no new guidance has gone out to commanders in the field because there are still many questions on how the president’s commitment will be implemented.

Last year's exercise was held in August, lasted 10 days and involved 17,500 U.S. troops. Service members from South Korea joined forces with the U.S. and seven other countries. Ulchi Freedom Guardian is a "computer simulated defense exercise," the Pentagon says.

Both Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford were well aware of Trump’s plan to suspend large-scale military exercises, according to Pentagon officials who spoke privately.

“Mattis spoke about what was not on the table, not what was on the table,” one official said, referring to a Monday meeting with reporters in which he said there was no discussion of withdrawing any U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hinted at the move when he told reporters at a pre-summit briefing in Singapore, “We're prepared to take what will be security assurances that are different, unique than [what] America's been willing to provide previously.”

But because the option was under wraps, and contingent on a positive meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, planning is just now underway to decide which exercises should be “sped up, scaled back or suspended,” according a military official familiar with the planning

Pentagon officials say they are also waiting to get a briefing from Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, who is the Defense Department’s liaison with the State Department team leading the diplomatic effort.

In making the announcement to end what he called “war games,” Trump cited both the cost and provocative nature of the exercises.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/pentagon-begins-planning-which-south-korea-exercises-should-be-sped-up-scaled-back-or-suspended

Two of Trump’s Fed nominees advance in Senate

Two of President Trump’s nominees to serve at the Federal Reserve advanced in the Senate Tuesday, winning approval from the Senate Banking Committee.

The panel voted 20-5 to approve Richard Clarida, an academic and former adviser to the investment giant PIMCO, to serve as vice chairman of the Fed’s Board of Governors. It also approved Michelle Bowman, the Kansas state bank commissioner, to serve as a member of the board on an 18-7 vote.

If confirmed by the full Senate, Clarida and Bowman would be the fourth and fifth members of the board, four of whom would have been appointed by President Trump.

“Their expertise and experience will be an asset for the Federal Reserve,” said committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.

Like Chairman Jerome Powell, Clarida and Bowman are both viewed as responsible choices. Clarida is regarded as a monetary policy expert, and Bowman has the community banking background required of at least one of the board members.

“Rich Clarida’s strong understanding of monetary policy and financial markets — and real-world experience in the private sector — will serve him well as vice chairman,” said Rob Nichols, the chairman of the American Bankers Association.

Even with their appointments, the board still would be two members short of a full complement.

One other nominee, Carnegie Mellon economist Marvin Goodfriend, has seen his confirmation stall because of opposition from Democrats and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

At Tuesday’s vote, the committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, opposed both candidates on the grounds that they hadn’t sufficiently answered the questions they were asked as part of the process. He noted that some of the written answers they provided for the record on the question of what caused the financial crisis were nearly identical, and suggested that the Fed’s staff had prepared them.

“In this case, I’m not interested in the views of the Fed staff, as talented as they may be,” Brown said.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/two-of-trumps-fed-nominees-advance-in-senate

Obama's Iran negotiator was 'taken aback' by one particular sight at Trump and Kim's meeting

The decision to display North Korea's flag alongside the American flag at the historic U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore gave power to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, according to a former Obama administration official.

"I must say I was a little taken aback by the North Korean flags and the American flags side by side," Wendy Sherman, a top State Department official under former President Barack Obama who was the lead negotiator for the Iran nuclear deal, said on MSNBC Tuesday.

"I was a little taken aback by the North Korean flags and the American flags side by side … We aren't equals to each other. This conferred power to Kim Jong Un that I don't think he has yet earned."

– Wendy Sherman, Fmr. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs pic.twitter.com/dKjAWIvpGz

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 12, 2018

"We really aren't side by side," she said. "We aren't equals to each other, and this conferred power to Kim Jong Un that I don't believe he has yet earned, in terms of the respect from the United States."

"That's something that comes through building that relationship," Sherman added.

President Trump and Kim met in Singapore for several hours, after which they signed a broad agreement aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. Trump hailed the meeting as a sign that North Korea was finally ready to meet the demands of the world and eliminate its nuclear weapons program.

But Sherman said the joint statement that both Trump and Kim signed wasn't nearly as specific as past efforts have been. She said several deals had been reached over the past few decades that failed to go anywhere, after North Korea balked at allowing inspections of its weapons sites.

"We have not only been here before, but we have been here before with much greater specificity," she said. "So [Secretary of State] Mike Pompeo needs to go back and understand a little bit more about history."

Republicans and even some Democrats have been critical of the Iran deal that Sherman negotiated. Trump abandoned that agreement last month, and argued it would actually give Iran a clear path for obtaining a nuclear weapon.

https:// www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-kim-summit-us-north-korea-flags

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