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White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster, center, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster, center, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) more >
By Carlo Muñoz - The Washington Times - Monday, September 25, 2017
The U.S. and its allies in the Pacific must steel themselves for the realistic possibility of open warfare with North Korea, National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster said Monday, hours after the country’s top diplomat claimed the growing war of words between the White House and Pyongyang was tantamount to a declaration of war.
Speaking at a national security symposium in Washington sponsored by the Institute for the Study of War, Gen. McMaster laid bare the dire situation the Trump administration has now found itself in regarding the threat posed by North Korea. “What we hope to do is avoid war, but we cannot completely discount that possibility,” he told attendees.
Top defense and national security advisers have been preparing a slew of possible diplomatic and military options to address Pyongyang’s growing aggressiveness against the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific, Gen. McMaster said. “We have thought through four or five ways to resolve this, and some [options] are uglier than others,” he said, adding “that thinking is evolving all the time.”
SEE ALSO: North Korean official says Trump has ‘declared war,’ threatens to shoot down U.S. warplanes
The three-star Army general’s comments came hours after North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-Ho told reporters that Mr. Trump’s comments that the country “wouldn’t be around much longer” if it continued to threaten the U.S. was akin to a declaration of war. “At last, he declared a war on our country,” Mr. Ri told reporters in New York City.
“Even the fact that this comes from someone who is currently holding the seat of the United States presidency, this is clearly a declaration of war,” he added, noting that Pyongyang was now prepared to shoot down American aircraft operating near North Korean airspace in and around the peninsula. On Saturday, U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers from Guam, along with U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagle fighter escorts from Okinawa, Japan, flew in international airspace over waters east of North Korea.
“This is the farthest north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) any U.S. fighter or bomber aircraft have flown off North Korea’s coast in the 21st century, underscoring the seriousness with which we take DPRK’s reckless behavior,” Pentagon Press Secretary Dana White said in a statement.
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SEE ALSO: White House rejects North Korea’s characterization of ‘war’ with U.S.
On Monday White House press secretary characterized Pyongyang’s claims over Mr. Trump’s comments claims as “absurd,” adding it would “never be appropriate” for a foreign military to fire upon U.S. warplanes operating over international waters.
Aside from vowing to down American aircraft skirting North Korean airspace, Pyongyang has also threatened to launch missile test shots at U.S. military installations in Guam and conduct a hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific. On Monday, Defense Secretary James Mattis said such a test by the North “would be a shocking display of irresponsibility toward global health, toward stability [and] toward non-proliferation.” However, he stopped short of characterizing such an action would be a clear act of war during a press briefing en route to a diplomatic visit to India.
Administration critics claim Mr. Trump’s virulent rhetoric against the North Korean regime, particularly the personal insults leveled against Kin Jong Un, have limited U.S. diplomatic options and pushed the country closer to war. Gen. McMaster dismissed those claims, saying the tone and tenor of Mr. Trump’s comments are in line with those of previous administrations.
“I do not think we have seen any evidence” of Mr. Trump’s rhetoric driving Pyongyang closer or further from war with the U.S.,” Gen. McMaster said. “But I do not think there is any lack of clarity now” over what the North faces, should it continue its provocative actions in the region, he added.
Trump prepares for charges that his tax reform plan will explode deficit
DONALD TRUMP
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters upon his return to the White House in Washington, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters upon his return to the White House in Washington, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) more >
By David Sherfinski and S.A. Miller - The Washington Times - Monday, September 25, 2017
President Trump is preparing to beat back charges that his tax reform plan will explode the deficit, White House officials said Monday, as the president and Republican leaders give up their longtime fury over skyrocketing national debt in favor of massive tax cuts.
Democrats laid down a marker early on that increasing the budget deficit would be reason enough to oppose the first major overhaul of the tax code in more than 30 years, and the criticism will hit close to home for Mr. Trump and conservative lawmakers who fashioned themselves as deficit hawks.
“We’re definitely prepared for that line of attack,” a White House official told The Washington Times. “We have always said that tax reform will include lowering rates, closing loopholes and broadening the base by ending special interest tax breaks. Those priorities will be reflected in the plan.”
As Mr. Trump gets ready to roll out the plan in a speech Wednesday in Indianapolis, GOP lawmakers and conservative activists also appear prepared to set aside — at least temporarily — longstanding concerns about the national debt, now $20 trillion and growing.
The president is expected to make the case for an urgent need to pass an aggressive, pro-growth tax package even if it means a short-term spike in deficits. The projected economic growth, the argument goes, will more than make up for initial lost revenue from slashing individual and corporate tax rates.
More details about what will be in the framework trickled out ahead of the announcement. Republicans are looking at slashing the corporate rate from 35 percent to 20 percent and the top individual rate from 39.6 percent to 35 percent, said sources familiar with the plan.
