Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
A South Korean news report translated to English quoted
a staffer on President Donald Trump's National Security Council
who was said to have mentioned that a limited strike against
North Korea "might help in the midterm elections."
The news stoked fears that the US might be more serious
about preemptively striking North Korea than previously
thought.
However, the source of the quote said that the staffer
merely said something "to the effect" that a strike might score
Trump some political points.
Foreign-policy experts and lawmakers were aghast following a
South Korean news report that attributed to
a staffer on President Donald Trump's National Security Council
the suggestion that a limited strike against North Korea "might
help in the midterm elections."
The alleged comment, which was sourced from a scathing opinion
column published Friday local time in the South Korean newspaper
Hankyoreh, intimated that Trump would consider a limited strike
against the North Korean regime "as a way out of his
domestic political crisis" in midterm elections.
"Indeed, White House National Security Council senior
director for Asian affairs Matthew Pottinger was reported as
saying in a recent closed-door meeting with US experts on Korean
Peninsula issues that a limited strike on the North 'might help
in the midterm elections,'" the English-translated version of the
op-ed read.
The anecdote quickly spread on social media Friday night in
the US, fueling speculation that the White House was seriously
considering striking North Korea — potentially endangering the
lives of millions of South Koreans and thousands of US citizens —
in order to score political points.
But a closer look at the original article in Korean suggests that
the quote should not have been taken a face value. The Korean
version states that the source of the quote claimed that
Pottinger said something "to the effect" that a limited strike
"might help in the midterm elections."
Hankyoreh told Business Insider that the author of the op-ed had
used the quote from a previous story that was published one day
earlier. That article, written by the newspaper's Washington
correspondent, also cites the source as saying that the comment
attributed to Pottinger was implied, and not a direct quote.
Business Insider contacted the correspondent, who said that he
had confidence in his source and acknowledged that the English
version of the op-ed may have been misinterpreted during
translation.
Nevertheless, foreign-policy experts quickly condemned the South
Korean op-ed for not naming the source who relayed the alleged
comment that's being attributed to Pottinger — and for suggesting
that Pottinger would make such a statement:
"I hope it’s a misquote or out of context. I suppose we
should wait for an explanation. But good lord this looks
bad," one commenter said.
— Jeffrey Lewis (@ArmsControlWonk) February 3, 2018
I hope it’s a misquote or out of context. I suppose we should wait for an explanation. But good lord this looks bad.
"Note: the sourcing here is incredibly flimsy. I want to be
very clear: Pottinger saying it is bad. Anyone implying NSC
staffer said it also bad," another person said. "This not what
the NSC is for, it is not what it does, and suggesting otherwise
is gross. This is why Bannon did not belong there."
— Loren DeJonge Schulman (@LorenRaeDeJ) February 3, 2018
Note: the sourcing here is incredibly flimsy. I want to be very clear: Pottinger saying it is bad. Anyone implying NSC staffer said it also bad. This not what the NSC is for, it is not what it does, and suggesting otherwise is gross. This is why Bannon did not belong there.
Rep. Ted Lieu of California also expressed concern:
"If below quote is accurate, National Security Council
Member Matthew Pottinger must resign immediately," Lieu wrote on
Friday night. "Whether to use military force and put our troops
and other Americans at risk in N Korea must be based on US
national security, not whether it would help in midterm
elections."
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) February 3, 2018
If below quote is accurate, National Security Council Member Matthew Pottinger must resign immediately. Whether to use military force and put our troops and other Americans at risk in N Korea must be based on US national security, not whether it would help in midterm elections. https://t.co/TwDrY63oHe
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended
Pottinger on Friday night and criticized Wall Street Journal
Seoul bureau chief Jonathan Cheng, who tweeted the original story
with attribution to Hankyoreh.
"Never happened. Pottinger is a Marine who served in two
wars and doesn’t take military action lightly," Sanders said.
"Can’t believe
@
WSJ
reporter didn’t reach out for a comment before repeating
such a reckless accusation."
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) February 3, 2018
Never happened. Pottinger is a Marine who served in two wars and doesn’t take military action lightly. Can’t believe @WSJ reporter didn’t reach out for a comment before repeating such a reckless accusation. https://t.co/B270jlqHUs
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