So now we have the North Koreans telling us that we are on the brink of war. Those who are advocating negotiations and restraint against Pyongyang are arguing what seem to be from two contradictory points. On the one hand they tell us that North Korea is not really a threat, but rather is a poor country headed by a crazy despot who just wants to get our attention. But then they go on to argue that we need to show restraint because war might break out if we are too forceful in our response. So do they want war? No. They are basically telegraphing their moves and drawing attention to themselves; not the sort of behavior you expect from someone preparing for war. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, the North Korean dictators don’t want war–they want the fruits of war. In this case the fruits of war for North Korea are international attention, aid, and a free pass on their aggressive actions.
Already there are been repercussions in South Korea over the weak response to North Korea’s military strikes. Hong Sa-duk, a member of the ruling party in Seoul, was quoted as saying, “Let me say a word about those bastards at the Blue House [presidential home in South Korea] who advised the president to say the situation should be managed to avoid a full-blown war. They must be fired for advising the president to have such a weak response.” And indeed, the South Korean defense minister has resigned.
Another member of the ruling party, legislator Chung mi-kyung was quoted in the same article as telling the President, “If you had used our air force capability from the beginning and completely destroyed the North’s guns, there would have been no second attack.”
The dictators in Pyongyang don’t want war–they want the fruits of war. Time that we give them the fruits of American military technology. The message should be clear: you strike South Korean, you will be hit back even harder, against a high value target.
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