Beijing (China) is attempting to “trigger” President Trump’s internal neo-con and militaristic opposition. Stay frosty, avoid emotional reports demanding military engagement, and remain steady with a high altitude perspective.
Multiple reports now confirming that North Korea has conducted a missile test. The flight path escalates the issues by crossing over part of Northern Japan. In essence, Beijing China just threw an elbow at President Trump. [The likely “Why” follows breaking report]

TOKYO (Reuters) – North Korea fired a missile that passed over northern Japan early on Tuesday, the Japanese government said. The government’s J-Alert warning system advised people in the area to take precautions, but public broadcaster NHK said there was no sign of damage.
The Japanese military did not attempt to shoot down the missile, which passed over Japanese territory around 6:06 a.m. local time (2106 GMT). (Reuters)

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, speaking to reporters in Tokyo after the launch, said the missile appeared to have passed over airspace and that the government was urgently collecting intelligence on the incident and doing everything to ensure the safety of its citizens, according to remarks broadcast on NHK, Bloomberg News reports.
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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appears on Fox News Sunday with guardian and gate-keeper of the swamp Chris Wallace.

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[Transcript] QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, welcome back to Fox News Sunday.
SECRETARY TILLERSON: Pleased to be here, Chris.
QUESTION: Before we get to foreign affairs, I want to ask you as a native son of Texas and as the former chairman of and CEO of ExxonMobil your thoughts about Hurricane Harvey and especially the impact it’s having in the oil and gas sector there on the Gulf coast.
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United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, recently visited the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) to review the ongoing JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) as they continue to monitor Iran’s nuclear program.
Ambassador Haley outlined a summary of the IAEA meeting and fielded additional questions about North Korea and Venezuela.  She will be traveling to Washington DC on Monday to brief President Trump and Secretary Tillerson.

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As you might note from her remarks (see below), Ambassador Haley is keenly aware of the uniqueness, and effectiveness, of President Trump’s economic approach toward regional national security issues – specifically as it pertains to the recently announced Venezuela sanctions. Strong concise statements. Strong, short, effective and deliberate answers.
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Communist Beijing China controls North Korea.  The DPRK is used by China, specifically the Old Communist Guard in Beijing, as a sword and shield against U.S. economic allies, interests and relationships in SE Asia.
The U.S. launches Section 301 trade investigations into China. The U.S. gives ownership of Afghanistan extremism to Pakistan, a Chinese strategic partner. The U.S. sanctions Venezuela, another strategic partner for China. Outcome = China is under pressure.

North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un does what Beijing tells him to do; that truth is how we can predict events like this missile launch.

SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Yonhap) — North Korea launched what seems to be short-range missiles into the East Sea on Saturday morning, according to South Korea’s military.
The North fired several “unidentified projectiles” from the vicinity Gitdaeryong in Gangwon Province at around 6:49 a.m., said the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). (link)

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It must be pointed out; it is up to us to do so.  The corporate media are hopelessly deficient in their coverage and explanations of how strategic objectives for national security are being delivered through a Trump Doctrine via economic leverage.  The results are stunningly effective, yet few have noticed, and even fewer seem willing to articulate.

The latest example of the geopolitical Trump Doctrine in action comes via Venezuela, and in the wake of a fraudulent Maduro election – the Trump administration’s economic and financial policy delivering sanctions against the rogue Maduro regime:

(Via LA Times) The Trump administration on Friday slapped sweeping financial sanctions on Venezuela, barring banks from any new financial deals with the government or state-run oil giant PDVSA.
The sanctions Trump signed by executive order are bound to dramatically escalate tensions between Venezuela and the U.S. and exacerbate the country’s economic crisis.

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China is the #1 investor in Pakistan, and by extension of President Trump’s strategic decision to put Pakistan in the spotlight for supporting extremist elements within Afghanistan, China is also in the geopolitical spotlight. It’s a brilliant play by President Trump and Secretary Tillerson.
If there was no symbiosis between China and Pakistan, there would be no reason for China to have an opinion. However, understanding the nature of how their geopolitical ally has been called out, China is now exposed, and responds by trying to get the burden of responsibility removed from Pakistan.

BEIJING (Reuters) – The United States must value Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan and respect its security concerns, China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a phone call, according to Chinese state media.

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Being on the leading edge of history as it unfolds is a great deal of fun.  Everything is proceeding according to plan.  This is The Trump Doctrine playing out on the geopolitical stage and we all have references to smile about. Swimmingly.
Remember, when President Trump gave truthful, and rightful, ownership of the Muslim Brotherhood’s extremism to the Arab Gulf States? Their first response was to refute the position. Quickly they accepted reality; and now the GCC, led by Saudi Arabia, is confronting MB’s enabler, Qatar.
Remember, when President Trump gave truthful, and rightful, ownership of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions to China? The first response was Beijing refuting the position. Eventually they accepted reality; that process is ongoing.

On Monday President Trump gave truthful ownership of the Taliban to Pakistan. Well:

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – Pakistan has rejected U.S. criticism of its efforts to fight terrorism, saying it should not be made a scapegoat for the failure of the U.S. military to win the war in Afghanistan.
U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his policy for Afghanistan on Monday, stepping up the military campaign against Taliban insurgents and singling out Pakistan for harboring them.

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In the multidimensional economic security approach of President Trump, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin plays a critical role.  Today the U.S. Treasury announces new sanctions on Chinese and Russian entities for enabling North Korea.
The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) announced additional people, businesses and entities added to the “Specially Designed Nationals” sanctions list. [Full List Here]

One note that must be underlined – SEVERAL of these sanctioned entities/organizations MAY also be part of the Washington DC lobbying apparatus, directly or indirectly.  As such, Secretary Mnuchin becomes a target of those financial interests.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is imposing new North Korea-related sanctions, targeting Chinese and Russian firms and individuals for supporting Pyongyang’s weapons programs, U.S. officials announced on Tuesday, but stopped short of an anticipated focus on Chinese banks.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated six Chinese-owned entities, one Russian, one North Korean and two based in Singapore. They included a Namibia-based subsidiary of a Chinese company and a North Korean entity operating in Namibia.

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A very familiar pattern is emerging as President Trump turns his attention toward solving the ongoing issues within Afghanistan. A very uniquely Trumpian geopolitical strategy based on assigned ownership, economics and self-interest.
Last night as President Trump addressed the nation to discuss the ongoing conflict within Afghanistan he took the first step: Trump assigned strategic ownership to Pakistan:

[…] “The next pillar of our new strategy is to change the approach in how to deal with Pakistan. We can no longer be silent about Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations, the Taliban, and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond.
“Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan. It has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists. In the past, Pakistan has been a valued partner. Our militaries have worked together against common enemies.

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An interesting article in the Washington Times poses a possibility of President Trump holding a deconfliction summit with North Korea –SEE HERE– And that begs a question of whether or not it’s actually plausible. I would state unequivocally yes, and here’s why.
If you have followed the foreign policy pattern of President Trump you immediately recognize he does not restrain himself to DC political customs or DC political norms. Indeed as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi optimistically noted, President Trump can accomplish many things because he brings a unique perspective to the world of policy and diplomatic engagement. Later repeating: “He Can Do The Impossible“.

Additionally since we originally outlined the likely scenario for a restart of the ‘six party talks‘ (China, South Korea, Russia, Japan and the U.S.), on August 13th, there has been some visible activity providing further evidence toward that end.
•Japan (Shinzo Abe) has stated they have “great confidence” in President Trump’s Asian national security approach. •South Korea (President Moon Jae-in) has stated they are “confident there will not be war again on the Korean peninsular“; •and they are willing to send a special envoy to North Korea to begin talks. •In addition, China has quietly removed the 71-year-old veteran diplomat, Wu Dawei, from the position of negotiator toward the DPRK, and replaced him with 58-year-old Kong Xuanyou. Kong is a long time Chinese diplomat in charge of Asian affairs and he speaks Korean.
All of this generally under-reported diplomatic activity has taken place within the past week while the American media was busy pushing Charlottesville narratives.  But more importantly this activity took place while President Trump directed USTR Lighthizer to begin a section 301 trade investigation into China.  POTUS Trump is ramping up the pressure on Chinese President Xi Jinping, but more specifically this action targets Beijing’s communist old guard who control both their economy and the DPRK behavior.
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