Military

Petraeus says Trump’s ‘madman’ approach to North Korea could be effective — until it becomes disastrous

  • Trump is employing the “madman” strategy to dealing with a nuclear North Korea
  • It’s an approach straight from his own heart — and the “Art of the Deal”
  • And while it’s a legitimate strategy, it may end up proving disastrous

Retired general David Petraeus cautioned that President Donald Trump’s “madman” approach to dealing with a nuclear North Korea may actually be a legitimate strategy — though it could ultimately prove disastrous.

Speaking at the Intelligence Squared US debate at New York University with the Council on Foreign Relations’ Max Boot, Petraeus — who commanded US and NATO troops in Afghanistan and served as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency under former President Barack Obama — discussed how there may actually be some “merit” to Trump’s madman stance, though it can easily “go too far” in a crisis.

The “madman” theory boils down to a negotiation strategy that keeps the opposing side “off-balance” through a lack of consistency, Petraeus said.

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  • Trump is employing the “madman” strategy to dealing with a nuclear North Korea
  • It’s an approach straight from his own heart — and the “Art of the Deal”
  • And while it’s a legitimate strategy, it may end up proving disastrous

Retired general David Petraeus cautioned that President Donald Trump’s “madman” approach to dealing with a nuclear North Korea may actually be a legitimate strategy — though it could ultimately prove disastrous.

Speaking at the Intelligence Squared US debate at New York University with the Council on Foreign Relations’ Max Boot, Petraeus — who commanded US and NATO troops in Afghanistan and served as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency under former President Barack Obama — discussed how there may actually be some “merit” to Trump’s madman stance, though it can easily “go too far” in a crisis.

The “madman” theory boils down to a negotiation strategy that keeps the opposing side “off-balance” through a lack of consistency, Petraeus said.

 

Read the whole story from Business Insider.

Featured image courtesy of KCNA

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The SOFREP News Team is a collective of professional military journalists. Brandon Tyler Webb is the SOFREP News Team's Editor-in-Chief. Guy D. McCardle is the SOFREP News Team's Managing Editor. Brandon and Guy both manage the SOFREP News Team.

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