The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Staff Reports
Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 11:21 AM
Former Obama National Security Adviser Rice Says U.S. Must "Tolerate" Nukes In North Korea
“History shows that we can, if we must, tolerate nuclear weapons in North Korea — the same way we tolerated the far greater threat of thousands of Soviet nuclear weapons during the Cold War,” she wrote in a New York Times op-ed, criticizing the president’s “fire and fury” rhetoric in response to the escalating tensions between the two countries.
Rice urged Gen. John Kelly, White House chief of staff, to stop Trump, and she pointedly attacked Dr. Sebastian Gorka, the deputy assistant to the president.
“John Kelly, Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, must assert control over the White House, including his boss, and curb the Trump surrogates whipping up Cuban missile crisis fears,” she wrote.
Rice complained that Trump’s rhetoric was
“unprecedented and especially dangerous” and that America would have to
be cautious about its response to Pyongyang.
She defended Obama’s actions in response to North Korea, insisting that
his administration put them “on edge” by conducting joint military
exercises with South Korea and introducing more economic sanctions.
She urged Trump to continue the Obama doctrine on North Korea despite
growing hostility from the country.
“Rational, steady American leadership can avoid a crisis and counter a
growing North Korean threat,” Rice wrote. “It’s past time that the
United States started exercising its power responsibly.”