South Korea expert Victor Cha, a Georgetown professor long tapped as President Trump’s pick for Ambassador to South Korea, has issued a statement warning the US against carrying out any preemptive attacks against North Korea. After the Tuesday statement, an op-ed, officials now say he is no longer in consideration for the ambassadorship.
Cha warned an attack would not stem the threat of nuclear proliferation but make it worse, and would likely fuel efforts by North Korea to equip other US enemies out of a sense of vengeance.
He pointed out the foolishness of the argument for a “limited” strike, saying that if North Korea is so unpredictable that they can’t be dealt with diplomatically, they certainly couldn’t be counted on to react rationally to a US sneak attack.
Cha further warned that any US attack would likely quickly escalate and get out of hand, which analysts have been warning from the start. North Korea has said that their army has standing orders to retaliate fully to any US attack, which means the idea that a limited attack is even possible is doubtful.
With President Trump reacting so negatively to anything that downplays the chances of a US sneak attack, it’s unsurprising that Cha fell out of favor following this statement. It is not clear who the new ambassador pick wil be, but it’s safe to say whoever it is will favor US-imposed regime change, at least publicly.
“…safe to say whoever it is will favor US-imposed regime change…”
Well, that’s right up Bolton’s alley, isn’t it? And putting Bonkers that close to NK might solve other problems regarding Capt. Kangaroo. He could report first-hand on the effectiveness of THAAD.
Pres. Trump’s made a big mistake in withdrawing Dr. Victor Cha, an expert on the Korean Peninsula, whom he had picked for Ambassador to S. Korea. Dr. Cha was 100% correct in his warning against any attack against N. Korea, and Pres. Trump should’ve stood behind him on this warning; but, instead, he threw Dr. Cha under the bus.
I totally support Dr. Cha for speaking the truth about the dire consequences of any US sneak attack on N. Korea; but at the same time, I don’t support N. Korea .. I do know that the DPRK hasn’t invaded its southern neighbor since 1950. Minor incursions aren’t an invasion, and the only incident that almost resulted in a full-scale war happened off the coast of N. Korea in the autumn of 1968, wherein the destroyer USS Pueblo was captured by DPRK naval vessels (1 sailor was shot dead in the skirmish; the rest were taken prisoner). The captured crew were eventually released and returned home, but the USS Pueblo remained in N. Korea and is currently on display.