Issues Under Fire: War With North Korea Won't Be a Walk in the Park
With tensions rising as high and fast as North Korea's latest missile test, the U.S. has responded with more talk of war. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says, "we're headed to war if things don't change." (Note to Graham: Things won't change.) Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., said North Korea's latest missile test brings us closer to war. (Note to Haley: North Korea doesn't care.) Donald Trump said if North Korea keeps threatening the U.S. and its allies, Kim Jong-un and his country will be totally destroyed. (Note to Trump: North Korea doesn't appear to be frightened.) From this observer's perspective, North Korea is not even listening to the rhetoric. And if so, it's not being taken seriously.
To date, the Trump administration has issued threats of fire and fury being launched against North Korea like the world has never seen before. And considering the U.S. is constantly boasting of having the most powerful military in the history of the world, one would think Kim Jong-un would be biting his fingernails up to his elbows while shaking in his boots with fear. But he's not. Kim Jong-un is on a mission to protect his country by any means necessary and nothing will deter him. Besides, like us, Kim has observed how the most powerful military in the history of the world has performed in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan and he's clearly not impressed.
Looking at this conflict from Pyongyang's perspective, if the United States struggled with the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and ISIS for the last 17 years and predicts the war against Islamic extremism will continue on for two, maybe three more decades, they're convinced they can give the U.S. more than it can handle. Sure, devastating air strikes from drones, F-15's and tomahawks can lay waste to villages, towns, and cities like Baghdad and Kabul, but once on the ground, the battlefield is leveled. The U.S. learned very quickly, that fighting an enemy who has no fear of death was far more difficult than one could imagine. After all, U.S. forces expect to come home. And preferably in one piece.
If you recall, America was sold a rationale for going to war against Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Americans were told Baghdad would be devastated by the shock and awe of U.S. military power. Americans were told the conflict would be quick, decisive and done on the cheap. But after the death toll reached into the hundreds of thousands, (many of them civilians) and spending unknown trillions to defeat the Sunni regime, the enemy only splintered itself and metastasized around the world. Per many military analysts, the United States is no safer than it was prior to 9/11.
By Kim Jong-un's calculations, having a devoted military, that's been preparing for decades, backed up by a nuclear arsenal and essentially holding more than 26 million hostages in Seoul, South Korea just across the DMZ, he has the upper hand. If attacked, Kim could level Seoul within minutes. And while it's true, the U.S. will hit Pyongyang hard during the initial phases of the operation, history proves it's the weeks and months after the war starts that reality sets in. Only then will Americans realize this deadly conflict won't end quickly or cheaply. Only then will Americans realize the military option was the worst possible choice. Only then will Americans conclude U.S. leadership failed them again.
Bottom line: If threats of crippling economic sanctions and complete annihilation of Kim's regime by the world's most powerful military in the world has had absolutely no effect on North Korea's determination to be recognized as the world's tenth nuclear-armed nation, nothing will. Hence, one can deduce with confidence, this nuclear standoff will continue until the United States is forced to accept the same arrangement it has accepted with the Russian Federation - Mutually Assured Destruction (M.A.D.). Or, like some like to put it, "Don't Start None, Won't be None". Podcast below.
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