Are we standing on the edge of eternity? Is the world really going to end tomorrow? Scanning today’s headlines, it might look that way. And yet…
And yet I don’t really believe it.
I don’t think Donald Trump is that crazy. I don’t think Kim Jong-un is that brave.
I believe they are just shouting idle threats at each other like angry 3-year-olds.
That’s the kind of guys they are.
Kim Jong-un is like a fly on Trump’s forehead. Trump can’t use a handgun to blow that fly to Kingdom Come. He would blow out his own brains.
I’m sure Trump is tempted to go to war. It would divert attention from the damaging scandals Robert Mueller’s investigation is sure to uncover. And North Korea is asking for it.
But what can Trump do?
An attack using conventional weapons would probably mean a nuclear response from Kim Jong-un. And if Trump nukes North Korea, it would wreak havoc on the South Koreans next door (and other America’s allies in the region). Besides, it might provoke China, triggering World War III.
I suppose Trump could send a drone to take out Kim Jong-un. But who knows how that would turn out? What if it fails? And if it succeeds, who would succeed Kim? What would Kim’s successor do?
Realistically, there are only two options – let North Korea continue their missile tests and saber rattling, or work out a treaty to end the Korean War.
What? You thought the war ended in 1953?
Well, the US troops came home and the Chinese pulled back, so the fighting did come to an end. But there was no permanent agreement between the US and North Korea, just a ceasefire.
North Korea has been pining for a “permanent” peace treaty ever since.
If Trump were more mature, he would give the North Koreans their treaty – or at least sit down with the Dear Leader and see what common ground they might have. Of course he isn’t going to do that. It might make him look like a loser.
But I think America would set a good example to the world if it set pride aside and humored the North Koreans.
Look, the whole world must know that the US has more nuclear might than North Korea. Do we need to prove it? Even if it means a world ending nuclear holocaust?
