David Sanger and Edward Wong discussed an analytical article about countries that consider themselves US adversaries, recalling that US President Donald Trump said he would nominate them as rogue, but now they challenge him.
In the analysis published by The New York Times, the authors say that Iran, North Korea and Venezuela decided a few days ago to declare their defiance of President Trump.
The analysis adds that neither of these states is Trump a brilliant negotiator or ready to use military force as he claims, and that it also poses a completely different challenge to a president with little experience in dealing with international crises.
The analysis points out that Trump struggled to find the right balance between diplomacy and coercion, but he was not always firm in defining his foreign policy.
The escalating tensions with all three countries remind one that Trump's constant talk about problems - in which his predecessors are accused of aggravating or failing to confront them - is difficult to turn to realistic solutions in light of the recent events in those countries.
| Iran has threatened to resume production of nuclear fuel unless Europe is working to undermine US sanctions that destroyed Iranian (European) oil revenues, |
Increased tensions
The analysis adds that confrontation with Iran seems to be the most volatile at the moment, with tensions rising day after day.
The Pentagon said last Friday it would send another naval ship and a Patriot interceptor battery to the Middle East, as well as an aircraft carrier and bombers that had been sent earlier, because of possible threats from Iran or its allied militias.
The analysis suggests that the crisis has been clouded since Trump moved a year ago to withdraw from Iran's nuclear deal, after Tehran announced its partial withdrawal last week and threatened to resume production of nuclear fuel unless Europe acted to undermine US sanctions that destroyed Iranian oil revenues.
The analysis suggests that Tehran's announcement put European leaders in an indecisive position - a choice between Iran and Trump.
Rocket fire
In North Korea, the analysis says that when North Korean officials decided they did not get what they wanted from Trump after two summit meetings, they began firing short-range ballistic missiles.
North Korea's two tests last week seem to suggest that if Trump is no longer at the negotiating table, his personal diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may revert to old hostilities, the authors say.
In Venezuela, the analysis indicates that President Maduro is still in power, despite US efforts to attract military officers to the opposition.
The analysis adds that Trump is angry at the strategies set up by National Security Adviser John Bolton and his foreign minister Mike Pompeo, who failed to topple the Venezuelan leader.