Sure, we could be doing things with less confrontation but I think this completely 180' change in our posture has already paid off in some key ways:
1) NK has really been in the driver's seat for several decades now when it came to international discussions of its future as a nuclear power. For the first time in a long time, that has changed. Did you hear about this? I mean, since when has NK given a one single **** what its neighbors thought about its behavior? Since we started taking a very aggressive posture, that's when.
2) China and Russia have both been competing for (and subsidizing and providing aid and comfort to) the Kim Regime for several decades. Now there are troops massing on both borders. They clearly realize things are moving into a new phase and they realize this situation will not continue. They're taking it very seriously. They're not in Pyongyang lining up mining deals anymore. They're asking themselves how to keep this guy from wrecking everything. For the first time in several decades they actually feel motivated to get rid of this irritant instead of figuring out new ways to make money off him. That's kinda significant?
3) I guarantee you there are an ever-increasing number of senior (likely military) leaders within NK reconsidering their bets on the Kim family, ICBMs, and the terrible future all of this created for them and everyone they care about. A coup d'etat would be the best possible outcome, no? Why not encourage it. This approach does that plenty.
OK, so on to regime change. I think regime change really is a bit 'Pollyannaish' when it comes to foreign policy and should be avoided whenever possible. However, in this case I would make a special exception. If I find a single fault in the situation unfolding before us, it is this. I can't think of a single more evil, wretched regime than the Kim family. Worse than Saddam. Yeah, equally bad if not worse than Hitler. They did what no one else has done: they turned an entire nation into a prison camp that is set up to enrich a single family. They systematically tortured and murdered millions of their own people along the way. Even those who survived this were still just slowly starved and brainwashed into total compliance. I would like nothing better than to wake up one day to photos of Kim getting the Mussolini treatment by his own countrymen, even though I think he really deserves way, WAY worse than even that. Just **** that guy and his whole terrible family.
I don't like many of the things he has done in his first 100 days but I do credit Trump and all those helping to, yes, basically force the entire world to finally step up and do what's right vis-a-vis NK and this entire situation.
Sure, we could be doing things with less confrontation but I think this completely 180' change in our posture has already paid off in some key ways:
1) NK has really been in the driver's seat for several decades now when it came to international discussions of its future as a nuclear power. For the first time in a long time, that has changed. Did you hear about this? I mean, since when has NK given a one single **** what its neighbors thought about its behavior? Since we started taking a very aggressive posture, that's when.
2) China and Russia have both been competing for (and subsidizing and providing aid and comfort to) the Kim Regime for several decades. Now there are troops massing on both borders. They clearly realize things are moving into a new phase and they realize this situation will not continue. They're taking it very seriously. They're not in Pyongyang lining up mining deals anymore. They're asking themselves how to keep this guy from wrecking everything. For the first time in several decades they actually feel motivated to get rid of this irritant instead of figuring out new ways to make money off him. That's kinda significant?
3) I guarantee you there are an ever-increasing number of senior (likely military) leaders within NK reconsidering their bets on the Kim family, ICBMs, and the terrible future all of this created for them and everyone they care about. A coup d'etat would be the best possible outcome, no? Why not encourage it. This approach does that plenty.
OK, so on to regime change. I think regime change really is a bit 'Pollyannaish' when it comes to foreign policy and should be avoided whenever possible. However, in this case I would make a special exception. If I find a single fault in the situation unfolding before us, it is this. I can't think of a single more evil, wretched regime than the Kim family. Worse than Saddam. Yeah, equally bad if not worse than Hitler. They did what no one else has done: they turned an entire nation into a prison camp that is set up to enrich a single family. They systematically tortured and murdered millions of their own people along the way. Even those who survived this were still just slowly starved and brainwashed into total compliance. I would like nothing better than to wake up one day to photos of Kim getting the Mussolini treatment by his own countrymen, even though I think he really deserves way, WAY worse than even that. Just **** that guy and his whole terrible family.
I don't like many of the things he has done in his first 100 days but I do credit Trump and all those helping to, yes, basically force the entire world to finally step up and do what's right vis-a-vis NK and this entire situation.
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