MOMO

The Trump-Kim talks have reached what I call the “Moment Of Maximum Optimism”, or MOMO.

MOMO occurs after tentative goals have been exchanged between the two sides and everyone is saying, “Ok, we can do this, we just have to work out the details.” And you know the old saying: the devil is in the details. It’s the fine print that has screwed up many a deal.

I was going to include a list of treaties and non-proliferation agreements that North Korea has acceded to and then broken, but it turns out the list is already available on the Internet. If you want to peruse the list you can find it here at armscontrol.org. It’s a long list.

So once again we’re getting on the merry-go-round. Perhaps this time the stars will align and we’ll be able to grab the brass ring. But considering the number of times this merry-go-round has flung us into the weeds, you’ll understand why I will be curbing my enthusiasm. As the old-timers say, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” And I haven’t seen any pudding yet.