The Trump administration is recklessly courting a nuclear war with North Korea.
Given the improbable events of the past two years, it is almost impossible for anything to happen that would really surprise the American people. They could, however, wake up any morning to a horrific shock: mushroom clouds billowing on the Korean Peninsula.
The Trump administration has given so many signals of its willingness to initiate a war against North Korea that they no longer attract attention. As with much of what Donald Trump says, the public assumes these salvos are nothing more than empty bluster. But there are grounds to think the reckless talk will lead to even more reckless action.
In August, Trump told the North Koreans what to expect if they made any more threats against the United States: “They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.” That warning didn’t deter Kim Jong-un from conducting a nuclear detonation and additional missile tests, part of his quest for the capacity to execute a nuclear strike on the American mainland.
A growing number of important Washington figures think that prospect is so terrifying that it warrants a pre-emptive attack. National security adviser H. R. McMaster says the only option North Korea has is to give up its nukes — and “time is running out.” Dennis Blair, director of national intelligence under President Barack Obama, has recommended massive “air and missile strikes” on North Korea if it tests a missile in the Pacific Ocean.
The other day, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S. C., told The Atlantic that “there’s a three in 10 chance we use the military option” — a figure he raises to “70 percent” if there’s another test. Based on their conversations, he says Trump “has 100 percent made up his mind that he’s not gonna let Kim Jong-un” deploy “a missile and a nuclear warhead that can hit America effectively.
