Vice President Mike Pence today continued to play up the US hostility toward North Korea, saying the nation should view recent US strikes in Syria and Afghanistan as a warning to them not to question President Trump’s resolve and determination to act against North Korean “provocations.”
Other White House officials echoed this, saying that while President Trump wasn’t going to telegraph his attack by setting “red lines,” everyone has seen that his recent attacks in Syria prove that he can launch “decisive” attacks when he wants to.
This once again raises concerns that the US is likely to conduct an attack on North Korea, using its recent Tomahawk missile attacks against Syria, and the use of the “Mother of All Bombs” against a target in Afghanistan to underscore their willingness to aggress.
At the same time, it raises further concerns about whether President Trump had any sort of reason to carry out the attacks in the first place, or whether the Trump Administration carried out a high-profile attack on Syria, risking war with Russia, then used a previously undeployed type of bomb near villages in Afghanistan simply for the sake of “sending a message.”
This isn’t even particularly unlikely, as the Syria strike saw the US eagerly launching a quick attack over an alleged “gas attack” before an international investigation could take place, and the Afghan strike came totally out of the blue, bombing an area in Afghanistan which indeed has an ISIS presence, but which has had such a presence for many months.
Of course they were but nobody took them seriously. N.Korea, Russia, and China are going to take it seriously when it’s for real.
Lots of bluffing going on but the US isn’t going to get permission from China or Russia to hit N.Korea.
The US cant afford to allow NK to develop ICBM’s to antagonize the Wes coast and regional allies. It appears that China and Russia are all to comfortable with allowing NK time to perfect their capabilities and be a thorn in our sides. They say that American influence is waning, perhaps, but as long as we have capabilities to wage wars, the NK’s should be wise to consider diplomacy instead of bellicose rhetoric. Our current administration has shown themselves to be edgy and very much a war party.
Sure the US can, and it will because it doesn’t have any other choice unless China says so.
And you’ve got about as much chance of China saying so as we have with the US giving permission to stop the Israeli apartheid regime.
In any case, you aren’t taking into consideration the fact that small countries are only proxies for the big ones and they don’t need nuclear weapons.
We can only hope China steps in to help save NK from themselves and the US.
If Trump is so resolved to punish international wrong doers, then why isn’t he bombing the financiers of International terrorism?
Countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates?
Or does Trump have too many business interests in these countries so he shows his resolve by bombing poor countries like Syria and Afghanistan?
More likely that the financial largess of those states, like their “gift” to e. g. Clinton Foundation and their more stealth payments (bribes), purchases of vast quantity of arms, services and other financial transactions like buying dollars that help keep the warfare welfare empire from bankruptcy.
Or they play nice with Israel.
Money can cleanse all kinds of blood stains.
Killing chickens to scare the monkeys is witchcraft, not statecraft. More from the folks that think the sun orbits the flat earth…. The ones that posed as rational actors…
What a sick country. We kill to send messages.
Like the Germans did with Guernica.
The costs of the Syrian and Afghanistan “demonstrations” are pocket change compared to the costs of a real war with North Korea both in terms of casualties and budget. Does the businessman Trump understand that?
Furthermore, the Nuremberg trials may have something to say about bombing other nations to “demonstrate our resolve” to a country which was not bombed. They now appear to have been our Guernica. They appear to be clear-cut war crimes.
Especially if Russia and China get involved, and it’s pretty safe to say they both will. This is the beautiful thing about MAD.
I agree 100% correct, Dieter. Does the businessman Trump really understand the costs of the Syrian and Afghanistan “demonstrations” are pocket change compared to the costs of a real war with North Korea, both in terms of casualties and budget? Furthermore, the Nuremberg trials may, indeed, have something to say about bombing other nations to “demonstrate our resolve” to a country which wasn’t bombed .. And, as you said, they now appear to have been our Guernica .. They appear to be clear-cut war crimes.
Very well put, Dieter.
It’s not Trumps money on the line, it’s ours. And if his little sojourn to Atlantic City has proved anything it’s that the Donald has zero qualms about blowing someone else’s cash.
Trump promised his base he will commit war crimes. He is keeping that promise.
What would we do if Putin were to bomb Saudi Arabia to send Israel a message?
Trump isn’t involved Hyper. You’re a smart guy, you should know it’s all well over his head. Negotiations are taking place between the big 3 right now but it’s being kept under wraps in order to satisfy US demands that the bluff be given a chance. China and Russia aren’t going to allow this to spiral out of control. Trust me, I’m not an American.
Obama would have never allowed this sh-t to be happening. He saved his country from war with Syria and Iran and he would have stopped this N.Korea situation from getting so desperately close to nuclear war.
Even the most racist pigs are going to get those truths eventually.
It’s the same strategy Joey Gallo used in the Colombo Family. Use ‘crazy’ to intimidate your enemies. There’s another name for this when it’s used on a geopolitical scale. Terrorism. It didn’t end well for old Crazy Joe. I can’t see it ending much better for Donald and his puppet masters either and they have half the brains collectively that Joey had.