Washington – U.S. President Donald Trump told his Philippine counterpart that Washington has sent two nuclear submarines to waters off the Korean peninsula, the New York Times said, comments likely to raise questions about his handling of sensitive information.
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Trump has said “a major, major conflict” with North Korea is possible because of its nuclear and missile programs and that all options are on the table but that he wants to resolve the crisis diplomatically.
North Korea has vowed to develop a missile mounted with a nuclear warhead that can strike the mainland United States, saying the program is necessary to counter U.S. aggression.
Trump told Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Washington had “a lot of firepower over there”, according to the New York Times, which quoted a transcript of an April 29 call between the two.
“We have two submarines — the best in the world. We have two nuclear submarines, not that we want to use them at all,” the newspaper quoted Trump as telling Duterte, based on the transcript.
The report was based on a Philippine transcript of the call that was circulated on Tuesday under a “confidential” cover sheet by the Americas division of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.
In a show of force, the United States has sent the nuclear-powered USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to waters off the Korean peninsula, where it joined the USS Michigan, a nuclear submarine that docked in South Korea in late April.
According to the Times, a senior Trump administration official in Washington, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the call and insisted on anonymity, confirmed the transcript was an accurate representation of the call between the two leaders.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said Trump discussed intelligence about Islamic State with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak at talks in the Oval Office this month, raising questions about Trump’s handling of secrets.
Trump also praised Duterte for doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem”, the New York Times reported, a subject that has drawn much criticism in the West.
Almost 9,000 people, many small-time users and dealers, have been killed in the Philippines since Duterte took office on June 30. Police say about one-third of the victims were shot by officers in self-defense during legitimate operations.
Oh, please. NY Slime is reaching again. The President can legally disclose any classified or sensitive.information, if he feels it is required for National Security or for international diplomacy. That’s what Kennedy did when he showed Khrushchev the photos of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and what Carter did when he disclosed the fact of overhead satellite photos.
Anyone who has been in the armed forces would understand the reckless stupidity of Trump’s loose lips. Information on the disposition of specific strategic assets…and these submarines are strategic assets…is released only on a strict needs to know basis…if Trump were a military officer, he could be court martialed.
the problem is not that trump reassures an ally that we protect our friends, its that the garbage new york times has to publicize and tell our enemies.
Trump just can’t keep his mouth under control? He can’t keep secrets?
I don’t believe that. The reason I don’t believe that is that he only betrays national security secrets. He never betrays his own personal secrets, like for example, his taxes. But it’s not only his taxes; if you listen to him, you don’t hear him slipping up about details of his personal life, just national security secrets.
stories that quote “Anonymous” sources are incredibly suspect
Remember when Obama told everyone that Osama bin Laden’s location was revealed to the USA by a doctor giving free vaccines? Obama did that to show how clever he was. The locals arrested and hurt the doctor and it set back the vaccination program in Turkey.
Trump is ‘telling secrets’ that help the American cause and foreign policy.
Look,the Israelis have intelligence,and they know where all of our military assets are, including inventory of stockpiles of various weapon systems. I’m sure that some of our other allies, including the Brits also have that information. Therefore, what is the difference if Trump told Duarte that we have some nuclear subs in the area?
As Ed Norton famously said in The Honeymooners, “A slip of the lip can sink a ship!” He then added, “He never sank any ships!”
#7 . Sure I remember the Alfridi case. I remember the Manchester Guardian paper broke the story citing unnamed sources. I also remember the Pakistanis claiming they had developed the information themselves. I do not recall President Obama spilling the beans.