In comments that appeared to contradict yesterday’s by Defense Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that the US has few “good options” remaining with respect to North Korea if repeated threats and sanctions don’t work.
That’s because President Trump and other top officials have repeatedly insisted that diplomacy is a “failed” option of past administrations, and despite talking up their “many options,” these appear to all begin and end with some sort of military attack, starting a huge war.
Tillerson’s comments provide additional insight into the US “strategy,” such as it is, revealing that they expect that carefully timed and escalated threats and sanctions will at some point lead to North Korea just unilaterally giving up everything they want.
The plan already has tailor made excuses for failure too, with Tillerson and others complaining that Russia is blocking UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea for recent actions, which is throwing off the “precise” timing they believe is needed. It seems that eventually they’re going to give up on threats, blame the lack of international cooperation, and move on to the unilateral military attack they’ve previously talked up.
Rex Tillerson, how about if the U.S. stops its joint war games with the South Koreans along the north Korean border? Don’t you think North Korea has a right to feel menaced? Can you imagine how we would feel if Mexico started war games along our border?
Pressure is the “only” option because diplomacy would not lead to the extreme result desired by the US of regime change. China fears the refugee flows that do not seem to trouble the US anywhere else it has created millions of refugees recently. China also fears the US moving up to the Yalu, which was after all the cause for which China intervened in the Korean War.
The US does not just wish to solve the nuclear problem. The US wishes to use the crisis to get much more. THAT is why pressure is the only tactic.
Trump is prepared to go mushroom on DPRK. Probably will be launched by the submarines. “President Trump reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to
defend the ROK and Japan using the full range of U.S. conventional and
nuclear capabilities” – this is approved by Japan and South Korea. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/search1/2603000000.html?cid=AEN20170707009400315
Israel furious that north Korea refuses to acknowledge Israel .
$o Israel demands American taxpayers make war
I have an idea. Why does not the US of A mind it’s own business. NK has done NOTHING to the US.
What’s the most practical option? China will not allow the USSA to attack NK. They can either wait to shoot down a NK nuke ICBM in the extremely unlikely situation where one is launched, or they can pay up. Once again NK has earned a pay raise.