So far so good, then, but there have been three developments in this week of the inauguration that are sharp reminders of Biden’s wider concerns, in Afghanistan, North Korea and Tunisia. Concerning North Korea, when Trump was campaigning for office in 2016 he made it abundantly clear that he would never allow North Korea to develop strategic nuclear weapons capable of reaching the US mainland. North Korea has not only developed powerful thermonuclear weapons but almost certainly has missiles capable of reaching the continental US. Separating propaganda from reality, North Korea may still be some years away from that further capability, but Trump certainly failed in his negotiations with Kim Jong-un. Finally there is Tunisia, the birthplace of the social upheavals and popular revolts across the Middle East and North Africa a decade ago.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 23, 2021 12:56 UTC