Is It Time To Take Military Action Against North Korea?
Introduction
I don't normally like to post more than once per day but I will be away during the day tomorrow and may not get the chance to post this then.
I just heard the news that North Korea has conducted a new ballistic missile test and I wanted to make sure to discuss this whilst the news was still fresh.
You can read a BBC news report on the subject here.
According to that report this is the 14th test they have carried out in 2017.
The missile landed in the sea in something Japan describes as its "economic zone". I think this basically means these are waters that are used by Japan but not technically their territory.
I would like to briefly discuss why I think we need to deal with North Korea, sooner rather than later.
My Thoughts
I am not a warmonger, I believe that war should only ever be a last resort. However:
When War Is Inevitable, Waiting Can Make Your Position Worse
Sometimes war is inevitable and I think World War II is an example of that. In those cases delaying action can actually make a situation more difficult to contain.
Although it is hard to say for sure, appeasement of Nazi Germany (e.g. Chamberlain) and general inaction may have lead to many more deaths than would otherwise have occurred.
In North Korea we have a madman who is not only repressing his own people, but may actually be starving them in order to pay for his nuclear missile program.
The longer we wait before taking any kind of action, the weaker his people will be and the greater threat he will present to the rest of the world.
Right now he cannot deliver a nuclear missile to Europe or the US, but if I was in South Korea, Japan or any of the other surrounding nations I would be very frightened.
So What Needs To Happen?
The only way I can see this being resolved is by taking military action whilst it is still possible to do so without a nuclear incident.
Nobody wants that but I fear we may end up having to take it anyway later down the line as a result of North Korea using nuclear weapons.
I just think we are better off doing it now when their nuclear program is in its early stages and they can't necessarily unleash that kind of carnage.
It will obviously need agreement between the major world powers including Russia and most importantly China.
Indeed I think we have reached the point where even their closest ally has realised that Kim Jong Un is a "ticking time bomb" - and a nuclear one at that.
Don't get me wrong. War is not a good thing. People will die, it will be messy, but this is the reason we have armies. Those people sign up voluntarily to risk their lives and protect others.
It should not be taken lightly but I really believe that neglecting this situation or taking soft measures will ultimately result in even greater loss of life.
But the Iraq War Was A Disaster!
This is a different situation from Iraq prior to the war there.
In that situation, Iraq had basically lost pretty much all ability to wage war (the WMDs only existed in the imaginations of Bush and Blair and were a means to justifying an invasion which they had already decided on).
Further although there is little doubt that Saddam was a psychopath - he was not suicidal or crazy on the level of the North Korean leader.
You don't want someone who is crazy (and quite likely paranoid too) having the ability to use nuclear weapons.
In addition to the humanitarian and ecological disaster a nuclear strike by North Korea would create in Asia we must also consider the economic impact.
South East Asia is the hub of production for the vast majority of technology on which our world is dependent. It is hard to imagine the turmoil that would cause to the world as a whole.
The thing is that although most of the world seems to agree that action needs to be taken - the only thing that is likely to work is a military solution.
Sanctions and similar measures only work if your opponent actually cares about his people and is capable of rational thought.
Conclusion
Well those are my thoughts and I don't want this to get too long.
What do you think? Should we continue with sanctions and softer measures? Should we wait?
I would particularly like to hear the opinions of those who are in South Korea and other nations who are directly in the firing line. -Do you think the western powers are not taking this situation seriously enough?
Let me know in the comments.
(Since this is a discussion post I may be rewarding some Steem (as Steem Power) to my favourite comments - it depends on the quality of discussion though).
Thank you for reading
Best case result is China gets scared that Trump is just crazy enough to initiate military action.
So they pre-emptively handle regime change themselves in North Korea, behind the scenes, prior to the shooting war beginning.
Trump may have been crazy like a fox in launching missile attack against Syria, while at dinner in Florida with the Chinese premiere.
I'm sure that opened the Chinese eyes - this guy is a loose cannon !!
Worst case result for China is a shooting war on the peninsula, and millions of NK refugees streaming north into China.
I'm predicting China will handle a regime change in NK in the next two weeks, quietly, behind the scenes.
Dennis Rodman may have song his last karaoke with his BFF Kim.
STEEM On !!
I hadn't thought of that but I think it may be another possibility. The chinese might just get fed up and decide to get rid of him themselves.
That would be the best answer for all. But the Chinese play the long game better than anyone else. Not easily flappable with short-term issues. Not sure if NK rises to level of concern that the will feel they need to act on.
wow two weeks? Well we shall see soon then.
That would be a, "NO!"
I'm with you. However nuclear conflict cannot be avoided at this point, even if it seems it can. It has become just a matter of when.
I hope not. I don't think the world is ready for that or ever will be.
What is the alternative though?
Hey!
I have found this to be one of the more valuable posts I have read in the last couple weeks. I came back to have a look at the discussions that took place and found them still very relevant.
I am quite surprised that even here on Steemit that this topic is not getting a lot more attention, not just for the very real and relevant possibility of war and even nuclear war but the much deeper layers of the political web that all countries of power are playing in.
I really hope humanity gets a clue and I feel like posts like this help to that end. I wanted to feature it as a FINE example of how worthwhile and valuable discussions can be had from a post such as this.
I have found few posts lately that have this great of discussion on such important matters.
Thanks for your contributions.
Best Regards~*~
Thanks mate you are very kind:)
This was an awesome post man. I really appreciate how you created a space for such dialogue!
You contribute a lot of content of REAL value!
Hope to catch ur next great article!
nobody deserves a regime like that, If only there would be a way to get rid of the regime without having to fight the propaganda blinded people..
If you want to see their view of the US, I highly recommend this, if for no other reason than to view our side through their eyes. It's definitely interesting.
MAKE LOVE NOT WAR!
blessings.
http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Red_Wedding
You need to watch the GoT episode called the Red Wedding.
I'll give you three guesses which character you are playing. Your first two guesses don't count.
Sometimes the real world interrupts your utopia.
I know it sucks, but that's the real world for ya. Rarely fair, and seldom compassionate.
STEEM On!!
Lol that you talk about the real world and cite GOT. Sadly I will probably never watch it because I don't like fantasy fiction or TV.
lol, same here. I like Science Fiction, but I am pretty picky about what I read in the genre as well. And no tv for me. I do do a little youtube though high five
Well let me know if you have any sci-fi recommendations has been a while since I read any good novels.
heh, I've been mired in ancient Sci-fi. Heinlein, P.K. Dick, Asimov.
'Exit to Reality' is a pretty good book, and the author settled (i think) out of court with the Wachowski brothers for them ripping off her book. I don't know if they did or not, but they are really damn similar.
Cool thanks.
Not sure that helps when you have a madman with nukes but whatever.
No offense @thecryptofield, but we have madmen with nukes on both sides.
Lol :)
I agree but what if we are forced into it? I think the best we can hope for is internal regime change but it could backfire.
With all the stuff going on in the world now (ISIS, Korea, Trump. etc etc) there should be clear sanctions on the use of nuclear weapons. Using those weapons is no good for humanity but also for the earth we live on.
Very true. I think most sane people would not want to use them.
The biggest issue here @thecryptofiend is how other nations will react. South Korea doesn't want war because they are in the crosshairs for one of the largest artillery barrages to ever be unleashed if war starts. Some estimates state over 2 million South Koreans would be killed in the first few minutes of a full war. It seems a better alternative to a firing war would be the slow strangle of withholding resources from North Korea. To do that, we need all the countries of the world to participate--this includes Russia and China. China is the true wild card here. Do they want North Korea as is or would they prefer a less belligerent ally? Whatever eventually does happen, I fear we are slowly marching towards an all out war that could quickly turn into one of the greatest catastrophes in world history if the situation isn't handled correctly.
I think those estimates are likely exaggerated but who knows for sure. The thing is that a surprise attack might be able to prevent that from occurring. I think the potential for loss of life would be even greater once NK get usable nukes.
I think China is losing patience with them.
I agree we do slowly seem to be going towards war anyway.
It's hard to know which estimates can be trusted. I agree that a nuke would be much worse for everyone.
It seems the best case scenario might be for Kim Jong-un to quietly disappear.
Yes that would be best for all - assuming he wasn't replaced by someone worse!
The principal! He will give me TP! I would hate for my bungholio to get polio....Where I come from, we have no bunghole.
"No" my friend. War will not solve any problem and innocent people will suffer for no reason.
Innocent people suffer either way but I understand what you are saying. My fear is we may be pushed into a war later anyway.
I believe that people who have the power take decisions by supporting specific interests that are not necessarily identical to the interests of the people of the countries that emerge. If they decide to do war they will do it without any hesitation. The rest of us, the only thing we have to worry about, is how we will prevent such decisions. This is my point of view :)
Thanks for sharing your perspective on it.
Was someone else listening to the Rubin Report? His guest the other day wrote an article about this, sorry don't have the link here at work. Essentially the conversation he had with Dave as well as with military members was war will not happen. Instead screws will be tightened, sanctions, and decapitation of the regime will be sought.
Keep in mind China and Russia do a lot of trade with NK and it is their pit bull. As crazy as they think the Donald is, they are not going to give up one of their pawns in this game.
Unless Lil' Kim shoots down an airliner or the likes, I don't think he's going anywhere for a long time.
Interesting. I do think that China is getting tired of North Korea and others have suggested that they may get rid of KJU themselves if he keeps this up.
If they did they would be playing into America's hands. As it stands Lil' Kim is their shit talker, flame thrower. Who else on the world stage plays that role for China? Remember, pawns in the game of chess. NK couldn't be where they are and doing what they are doing without the support of at least China.
Then again I could be totally wrong and Trump or China could whack him tomorrow. I would actually prefer that as I live in Tokyo part time and my family is there full time. If things went down Seoul would get the artillery, Tokyo would get biological or nuke and the West Coast would get a nuke. I live in two of three of those places so, ya, take the fucker out.