Just about 63 years ago, the two Koreas began a fight that basically resulted in a stalemate. To the American GI's sent there in 1950 and 1951, they were told it was a police action. Think about that for a minute. A police action with howitzers and bombs? Not to the soldiers who fought and died there. And not to the many fortunate to make it back.
The conflict ended with a truce and armistice; Americans accepted that document as an end to hostilities and so did the Koreans. Or so we thought.
Over the last 60 years, North Korea has blustered and threatened South Korea, and to a lesser extent, Japan, all for concessions and food supplies. We agreed to these because we did not want the situation each time to escalate out of control.
Today, Kim Sung Un is rattling the sabers again, the same as his father and grandfather before him. But this time it's different. It's different because Un has the potential of starting a nuclear conflict, with rockets and a well-trained military. He has shown with the successful launches in December and February, that the missiles are functional.
We would like to believe that it is still nothing but bluster, but our intelligence
has shown it might be possible for North Korea to start something which could get out of control overnight. And then what? The North attacks South Korea and in the middle are 30,000 US troops. They will be forced to respond out of self defense.
North Korea will then launch nuclear tipped missiles against the United States, which, while we believe they won't reach the US mainland, could reach Hawaii, Alaska and Guam. Certainly, the missiles will reach the South and Japan. Do we do nothing in response?
Any action by America will be met unfavorably by Russia and China, causing an escalation. And what about Iran? That country is an ally of sorts of North Korea. They could respond by attacking Israel, which could force Israel to respond. Perhaps with nuclear weapons.
This is a game changer, for sure. Considering that Un had announced that a state of war now exists between the north and south, we need to find a way to diffuse a very tenable and dangerous situation quickly.
Or the point of no return will be here and gone with a flash of light. And world war 4 will certainly be fought with sticks and stones.
For one, my Grandpa served during the Korean War, and two, I found it eerie that I recently watched a video on youtube of Dick Cheney explaining how during the Bush Admin he had recommended taking action against N. Korea's weapons facilities but that Bush overruled him in favor of Condi Rice's diplomatic pitch. Now, in no way am I suggesting that Cheney was right or that Condi was wrong, but with all the new stories coming out, it makes you wonder!
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