A proposed trip to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spurred something of a diplomatic event this week, as administration officials and experts publicly disagreed on the utility of the trip amid increased threats from communist China.
The White House subsequently clarified that Pelosi was receiving standard military input on the security situation in relation to Taiwan.
“It’s routine for us when she travels overseas to provide her facts and analysis, context, geopolitical realities that she’s going to be facing wherever she goes,” said John Kirby, an official at the White House’s National Security Council.
“And there’s always issues of security surrounded by her travel, too, that sometimes the Department of Defense participates in, depending on where she goes and how long she’s going to stay and what the threats and challenges are.”…