Here is what ROK Drop favorite Bruce Klingner says should happen after the conclusion of the Winter Olympics:
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam, Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in watch an Olympic hockey game in Gangneung, South Korea on Feb. 10, 2018. (Felipe Dana / Associated Press)
Seoul worries that Washington won’t risk Los Angeles for Seoul, but that it would trade Seoul for Los Angeles. Concern is so acute in South Korea, in fact, that Moon thought it necessary to declare: “There cannot be any military action on the Korean Peninsula without a prior consent of the Republic of Korea.”
All this fear could lead to discord between the United States and South Korea, something that in turn could be exploitable by Pyongyang. The North’s participation in the Winter Olympics, which highlighted common Korean themes, is part of Kim’s campaign to drive a wedge between the allies.
If it plays a high-stakes game of brinkmanship, the United States will paint itself into a corner. By defining the completion of North Korea’s ICBM program as an intolerable and strike-inducing event, the Trump administration would be drawing a red line it is not necessarily prepared to hold.
Eventually, every poker player must deliver on their bet, or be revealed as a bluffer. If the United States comes out looking like a bluffer, American credibility will be gravely eroded.
We are now closer to a war on the Korean Peninsula than at any point since 1994. The Trump administration should avoid both a premature return to negotiations and a reckless preventive attack. Instead, it should respond to the growing threat by seriously pursuing its policy of “maximum pressure.” [LA Times]
You can read more at the link, but I think it is arguable that all the talk of a preemptive strike is part of the “maximum pressure” strategy. The US government is putting everyone on notice that if maximum pressure does not work because other countries are not complying than the preemptive strike is an option that will be used instead.
When, as children in the back seat of the family car on a long drive, we heard our father warn, “Don’t make me stop the car,” we knew we needed to stop irritating him.
Millenials raised in an age where soccer players get a trophy just for showing up once don’t understand that fear and certainty.
I don’t want a war; but I’d rather fight a war over there than over here. And I still have many friends and family over there.
I hope Trump is serious. And I hope the Norks back off before he has to figuratively “stop the car”…
rocketman
6 years ago
Setnaffa, I like your analogy. Another one would be “Don’t make me open this can of whoop ass”!
RockMarne
6 years ago
Trump is a wuss. He will not order a pre-emptive strike on the DPRK.
Liz
6 years ago
Rockmarne is a wuss. He will never post anything original.
setnaffa
6 years ago
Liz, that’s not fair. That’s the only Engrish they taught her in Pyongyang.
When, as children in the back seat of the family car on a long drive, we heard our father warn, “Don’t make me stop the car,” we knew we needed to stop irritating him.
Millenials raised in an age where soccer players get a trophy just for showing up once don’t understand that fear and certainty.
I don’t want a war; but I’d rather fight a war over there than over here. And I still have many friends and family over there.
I hope Trump is serious. And I hope the Norks back off before he has to figuratively “stop the car”…
Setnaffa, I like your analogy. Another one would be “Don’t make me open this can of whoop ass”!
Trump is a wuss. He will not order a pre-emptive strike on the DPRK.
Rockmarne is a wuss. He will never post anything original.
Liz, that’s not fair. That’s the only Engrish they taught her in Pyongyang.
LOL sorry Setnaffa, you’re probably right.