Yesterday, 09:35 AM
Earlier this month, however, the White House sent the military leader a tariff letter, threatening Myanmar with a new 40% trade penalty.
Min Aung Hlaing was, by all accounts, quite pleased — not because of Trump’s threat, but because the correspondence functionally recognized the legitimacy of Myanmar’s ruling junta in an official and diplomatic way.
In fact, the country’s military leader wrote back to Trump, expressing his “sincere appreciation” for the Republican’s letter, commending the American president for his “strong leadership” and praising Trump for guiding the U.S. “toward national prosperity with the spirit of a true patriot.”
He also appeared to celebrate Trump’s decision to gut Radio Free Asia and Voice of America.
July 7: Trump contacts Myanmar’s military leaders, marking the first diplomatic outreach from the White House to the junta since the 2021 coup.
July 11: Myanmar’s military leaders send Trump a nice response.
July 24: The Trump administration lifts sanctions on Myanmar for reasons the administration hasn’t explained.
Maybe this is entirely coincidental, but it’s not as if the White House has earned the benefit of the doubt. Either way, John Sifton, Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch, called the sanctions move “extremely worrying.”
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show...rcna221569
Min Aung Hlaing was, by all accounts, quite pleased — not because of Trump’s threat, but because the correspondence functionally recognized the legitimacy of Myanmar’s ruling junta in an official and diplomatic way.
In fact, the country’s military leader wrote back to Trump, expressing his “sincere appreciation” for the Republican’s letter, commending the American president for his “strong leadership” and praising Trump for guiding the U.S. “toward national prosperity with the spirit of a true patriot.”
He also appeared to celebrate Trump’s decision to gut Radio Free Asia and Voice of America.
July 7: Trump contacts Myanmar’s military leaders, marking the first diplomatic outreach from the White House to the junta since the 2021 coup.
July 11: Myanmar’s military leaders send Trump a nice response.
July 24: The Trump administration lifts sanctions on Myanmar for reasons the administration hasn’t explained.
Maybe this is entirely coincidental, but it’s not as if the White House has earned the benefit of the doubt. Either way, John Sifton, Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch, called the sanctions move “extremely worrying.”
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show...rcna221569
