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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We are only posting this outline to highlight clear and convincing evidence of how the Trump Doctrine assigns ownership; and how to see it in play when broadcast by MSM.

Reuters Headline: “Pakistan must adopt a different approach to terrorism”…

It’s not accidental. This is a repeating pattern.  –EXAMPLES HERE– This is the “Trump Doctrine at work; yet for some reason the majority of media and news consumers cannot see the strategy.  President Trump, and team, have assigned responsibility for bringing the Taliban to the table of deconfliction in Afghanistan to Pakistan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Tuesday that Pakistan must adopt a different approach to terrorism and the United States will condition its support on Islamabad’s delivering results in this area.
“There’s been an erosion in trust because we have witnessed terrorist organizations being given safe haven inside of Pakistan to plan and carry out attacks against U.S. servicemen, U.S. officials, disrupting peace efforts inside of Afghanistan,” Tillerson told reporters in the State Department.

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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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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is about to deliver remarks and answer questions during a press conference surrounding ongoing military and diplomatic efforts:
UPDATE: Video Added – Also: Listen closely to the very last thing T-Rex says beginning with “I think too often”… Right there you hear the larger outline of the “Trump Doctrine”.

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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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President Donald Trump –  “Thank you very much. Thank you. Please be seated. Vice president Pence, Secretary of State Tillerson, members of the cabinet, General Dunford, Deputy Secretary Shanahan, and Colonel Duggan. Most especially, thank you to the men and women of Fort Meyer and every member of the United States military at home and abroad. We send our thoughts and prayers to the families of our brave sailors who were injured and lost after a tragic collision at sea as well as to those conducting the search and recovery efforts.
“I am here tonight to lay out our path forward in Afghanistan and South Asia. But before I provide the details of our new strategy, I want to say a few words to the service members here with us tonight. To those watching from their posts, and to all Americans listening at home. Since the founding of our republic, our country has produced a special class of heroes whose selflessness, courage, and resolve is unmatched in human history.
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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson – This evening, President Trump announced the new integrated strategy for the U.S. approach to South Asia that will require diplomatically engaging Pakistan, Afghanistan and India to create the conditions for stability in the region.
This new strategy signals clear support for the Afghan people and government. We will continue to support the Afghan government and security forces in their fight against terrorists and prevent the reestablishment of safe havens in the country.
Our new strategy breaks from previous approaches that set artificial calendar-based deadlines. We are making clear to the Taliban that they will not win on the battlefield. The Taliban has a path to peace and political legitimacy through a negotiated political settlement to end the war.
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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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The ‘big ugly’ is inevitable. We all know it.  The only thing yet to be determined is the timing.  My spidey hunch tells me there are multiple possible detonation moments depending on sequencing.
Today, President Trump violates Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer’s golden rule regarding incumbent Senators.  President Trump tweeted support for a challenger:

Think about it.  President Trump has quietly placed triggering policy around the base of several UniParty issues:

♦China Trade Imbalance and North Korea Denuclearization; ♦the ongoing NAFTA renegotiations and future trade deals; ♦the fiscal year 2018 budget and associated MAGAnomic policy; ♦the southern border wall and immigration enforcement; ♦infrastructure and prioritization of spending; ♦no more stupid wars; ♦the repeal of ObamaCare and tax reform to benefit the middle-class workforce. 

These are not Bannonisms, these are core and central issues important to President Trump on an inherently personal and intrinsic level.
With some nuanced adjustments to reflect the current international challenges (ie. adding DPRK to the China objectives), these are essentially the fundamental reasons why candidate Trump came down the escalator in 2015.
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