Abraham M. Denmark Profile picture
Author, US Strategy in the Asian Century | Think Tanker and Adjunct Associate Professor | Former DASD/EA | Not Actually Danish | Tweeting in a Personal Capacity
Jun 17, 2020 7 tweets 2 min read
Personal opinion: the disclosures in the Bolton book should end any argument that Trump is tough on China, or that his administration has implemented a competitive strategy based on a "clear eyed" understanding of the challenges posed by China and Russia. washingtonpost.com/politics/trump… Some key [edited for length] passages:

President Trump asked [later the article describes him as "pleading"] Xi Jinping to help him win the 2020 US election, telling Xi that increased agricultural purchases by Beijing from American farmers would aid his electoral prospects.
May 21, 2020 5 tweets 1 min read
Self-defeating and destabilizing. It is far easier to discuss Open Skies data publicly and with partners, its flights are much more flexible than satellites, we conduct far more flights than Russia, and the flights can be used to signal U.S. resolve in a crisis. The Russian violations cited by the Trump administration are Moscow's restrictions on the distance flights over Kaliningrad and near the border with South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Yet the US reasonably imposed reciprocal restrictions on Russian flights over Hawaii, for example.
Aug 8, 2019 5 tweets 2 min read
Some inaccuracies in this statement, leading to problematic alliance issues.

The ROK doesn’t pay the US to defend it from NK. Our alliance is statutory and based on shared interests and values. Seoul pays to offset some of the costs associated with US Forces in Korea. The US has not paid “very little.” The last agreement, signed in 2014, had the ROK paying over $800M annually. militarytimes.com/news/your-mili…
May 1, 2019 11 tweets 2 min read
If this article accurately reflects the State Department’s thinking on China, it suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of both China itself and the challenge we face. (1/10) washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense… (2/10) “It’s the first time that we will have a great power competitor that is not Caucasian.” Hmm. I guess the Pacific Theater of WWII doesn’t count. But more importantly, what does race have to do with any of this?
May 24, 2018 9 tweets 2 min read
This letter is very strange, and its implications are significant. Some thoughts: <THREAD> 1) The tone of the letter is oddly warm and collegial. The President clearly sees Kim as an equal and counterpart, which will give Kim a tremendous amount of domestic and international legitimacy.