General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI have a bad feeling about the latest with North Korea.
Based on Trump's recent bluster.
I am thinking that it has come to the point where Trump is going to have to back up his tough talk, or risk looking like a fool to his base.
His actions indicate that he will do anything to maintain his base.
This is why it is so reckless and irresponsible to talk shit when it comes to life and death matters. It limits your options. Trump appears to be as unstable as Kim, and my only hope is that Mattis and Kelly can somehow keep his finger off the button.
I really hope I am wrong with my gut feeling.
Kath2
(3,054 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)Eliot Rosewater
(31,097 posts)at all, nothing about real estate or hotels let alone diplomacy or military strategy.
Election stolen
EMERGENCY EMERGENCY, get him the FUCK out of my WHITE HOUSE
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)But I think that China has to start now with every form of pressure possible, and even that probably won't work.
At this point, Kim is literally laughing at the US, and he either doesn't understand or he doesn't care about the destruction of his country or the death of millions in the region.
This is a terrible mess, one that probably does not have a good solution. Tough talk from the US is meaningless.
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)I guess that we could just let NK have SK. That would be a bad option, but one that would be potentially safer for SK than us in a war there.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)However, I don't think that the talking can be done by us anymore.
It is obvious that Kim is enjoying playing with Trump.
Short of warfare, I'm not sure if we can back up our talk anymore.
China has to do it, because they may be able to put meaningful sanctions on NK.
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)heaven05
(18,124 posts)just IGNORING the fact of WHO started this mess in the first place to try and look tough like the RW small finger man child he is, do I have that correct? And who kept ratcheting up the stakes? Idiot Kim took the bait and now we stand at the precipice. I know who to point the finger at and it ain't the idiot in NK, it's the RW idiot and hawks in D.C.
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)North Korea now has a hydrogen bomb that can destroy San Francisco. 8 months ago, they had nothing. You cannot go 8 months back in time.
mucifer
(23,374 posts)Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)mucifer
(23,374 posts)Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)heaven05
(18,124 posts)proven that it was a hydrogen bomb, second, I blame one person, along with bannon, miller and gorka for this mess we are in at the moment with a crazed dictator in NK. That's it. People can equivocate and squirm, yet ONE PERSON caused this mess. I don't care that eight months of provocation by ONE PERSON caused this mess and that "we can't go back". Like Obama did as a true leader-statesman for 8 YEARS, we should have been offering the carrot and the stick, now all we have to offer against Kim's ego is that fool in the white house......but I forget with the RW leaders now, it's all about white superiority and leadership that the whole world MUST kowtow to....and no yellow people are going to stand up to the great white leader in D.C.
CentralMass
(15,265 posts)Voltaire2
(12,626 posts)they are building a nuclear force to prevent military aggression against their nation.
AJT
(5,240 posts)uponit7771
(90,225 posts)Kath2
(3,054 posts)Siwsan
(26,177 posts)I'm so tired of living like this.
Kath2
(3,054 posts)A lot of us probably do.
RKP5637
(67,032 posts)able to handle this. His whole life has been making bombastic threats and throwing money around.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)of puking every single day since election day.
Nay
(12,051 posts)to shake. I've upped my gym time and started doing more stuff with friends, but I can't completely rid myself of that feeling.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)He is a danger to the country and to the world.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)to eliminate the short term threat, and then work on the longer term threat once that is accomplished.
What is worrying me is that Trump takes everything as a personal affront, making him likely to react impulsively.
I can almost picture him saying "Fuck this. I've had enough. We're nuking them".
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)If it gets his Russia scandal out of the news, he will see it as a viable option.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)the climax of the Russia investigation. He is slowly being backed into a corner.
Mueller is going to have to strike a delicate balance between:
a) Having enough to force impeachment, and
b) Waiting too long to do so.
edit: spelling
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)I've never thought of it in those terms, and it is intereting to go down this road.
I'm not sure what it would buy for Kim though. Would probably destoy his ego.
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)Part of which has a robust economy
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)And if China steps up, they might be able to continue to have one without having a dictator take over their country.
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)So long as North Korea is standing alone with a hydrogen bomb that can destroy San Francisco, the situation is volatile.
Actually the Koreas are at war currently, they have a truce though.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)Then what happens when he wants Japan?
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)South Koreans want that too. They just could not agree about who was in charge. If you have the hydrogen bomb, you win that argument, no contest.
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)with Kim as leader.
Also, letting a dictator take over a country does not really set good precedent.
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)Kentonio
(4,377 posts)The leadership of NK are not morons, they understand that any attempt to wage war on South Korea would result in their destruction. Having nukes merely means that they are not as vulnerable to pre-emptive attack from the outside to overthrow the regime. It doesn't give them a 'do anything you like' card.
The only realistic scenario that leads to Seoul being destroyed is if the US attacks NK. So how about we just don't do that?
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)That would work for North Korea
Kentonio
(4,377 posts)And if NK then used nukes, we'd destroy their country. They know that perfectly well, so what advantage is there for them in that scenario?
This all makes a lot more sense if you consider NK as rational actors, and not the crazy nutjobs the media love to paint them as. They're evil certainly, but not insane.
mucifer
(23,374 posts)RKP5637
(67,032 posts)preemptive strike by Trump.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)If you were president, how would you handle this situation?
LuckyCharms
(17,287 posts)1) Absolutely no more sabre rattling on the part of the US. Formally recognize NK as a nuclear power, but make it clear that any further advancement of this power will be considered and act of aggression, leading to #2 below.
2) US must repeatedly assure NK that they are under no threat from us unless they are militarily aggressive against another country or territory. At that point, our response will be appropriately sized based on NK's aggression.
3) Encourage China, using positive reinforcement for the country of China (benefits, rather than sanctions) to get NK under control.
4) Perhaps try to convince NK that there is another path for their country besides a "one Korea" solution. Aim towards future aid and support for the economic development of NK as a singular entity.
I don't know...that's all I have. The more time they can be kept from aggressive military acts, the longer people live.
beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)No way a NK can exist in its present form with a nuclear weapon(s) capable of wiping Seoul or Tokyo off the map. This is truly a Chinese problem to correct and if they can't I am afraid NK will most likely not exist....
What Trump has or hasn;t done or said really is of no matter at the moment as NK is pursuing a path of their own destruction
lame54
(35,141 posts)jimlup
(7,968 posts)This came out from Bannon during his resignation.
Personally, I think that even if he decides he wants to go all in - the generals will persuade him not to. He'll lose face with some of his supporters. Most will just ignore it and continue to believe in the Orange Child King.
I could be wrong.. God help us if I'm wrong!