Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)

It’s unclear if the Trump administration intends war on North Korea or not - madness if initiated.

It’s very clear Washington wants the DPRK stripped of its best way to prevent hostilities - by having a formidable defense. That’s what its nuclear and ballistic missile programs are all about, not as weapons for attacking any nation.

North Korea wants regional peace, not war. It wants its sovereign independence respected. It opposes other countries interfering in its internal affairs. It has international law on its side on this issue.

Pyongyang genuinely fears possible US aggression. It was mercilessly attacked earlier, raping the country, killing millions.

It can happen again - especially given America’s rage for endless wars and wanting all sovereign independent governments replaced by pro-Western subservient ones.

All US post-WW II wars were waged against nations perceived to be weak and easily defeated. North Korea was devastated in the early 1950s, but not conquered or subjugated.

North Vietnam prevailed in its 30-year war against Washington. The Taliban in Afghanistan proved a formidable foe, turning America’s war into a lost cause - even though it continues endlessly. The country is known as a graveyard of empires for good reason.

Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic programs give Washington pause about waging war against a nation able to hit back hard, endangering US regional forces and South Korea, possibly Japan.

It’s leadership won’t relinquish its formidable weapons - nor should it as long as a belligerent America poses a major threat to the nation’s security and survival.

According to Peking International Studies Professor Jie Dalei, “(a) nuclear-armed North Korea is not the end of the world…China and the US have been facing a North Korea with nuclear capabilities for some time.”

“China has long stated that denuclearization and peace and stability are its two major policy goals for North Korea. But when the two goals cannot coexist, it’s time to reconsider the strategy.”

Other nations have nuclear weapons, including America, Britain, China, France, India, Israel, Pakistan and Russia.

A nuclear-free world is essential to achieve. Survival depends on it. The existence of these weapons poses a serious risk of their eventual use, perhaps a certainty.

America is the greatest threat to use them preemptively, not North Korea, China or Russia - the least likely nations to use them.

During the Cold War, the notion of mutually assured destruction (MAD) restrained America and Soviet Russia from using these weapons against each other.

Today, bipartisan extremists in Washington risk the unthinkable, believing they can wage nuclear war and win. It’s unclear where Trump stands. If he accepts this notion, we’re all doomed.

War on North Korea would likely involve using them. It would be regionally disastrous. Professor of International Relations Arthur Waldron believes “(t)here’s no such thing as a surgical strike” to eliminate Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile deterrents.

Everything is bunkered underground. It would be “impossible” to verify a successful campaign. War is not an option. America must diplomatically recognize North Korea, the only acceptable solution, he said.

According to retired Chinese military official Yue Gang, “(t)here has been a subtle shift in (his country’s) policy towards North Korea.”

“Diplomatically, it has maintained the stated goal of denuclearization, but on the operational level it is slowly accepting and adjusting to this new reality. It is no longer so forceful in pushing for a nuclear-free North Korea.”

He urged a responsible change in US policy - agreeing to a peace treaty, formally ending the 1950s war, replacing the uneasy armistice.

With hawkish neocons infesting Washington, heightened tensions continue. During his Latin America tour, Vice President Pence threatened Pyongyang, saying “all options (against the country) are on the table.”

“Our hope is that Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Peru will join us in breaking all ties with North Korea.” He wants all Latin American nations to sever ties, part of America’s isolation strategy.

China and Russia oppose this policy, urging diplomacy over America’s confrontational agenda. “We can’t support the ideas some (other nations) keep putting forward, which are intended to literally suffocate North Korea,” Sergey Lavrov stressed.

Pence saying America “will simply not permit…North Korea to possess usable nuclear weapons” risks heated rhetoric becoming something much more serious.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

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