Let me start by saying this — when it comes to North Korea, there is no military solution.
Not without the deaths of millions, that is. Although our president doesn’t care — since those deaths would likely come from overwhelmingly Pacific populations — you’re a living human being with some semblance of consciousness, and you care. So, it’s simple: THERE IS NO MILITARY SOLUTION.
But North Korea has a nuclear bomb, and that’s a problem for us, isn’t it? It’s certainly a problem for South Korea, Japan and our islands in the Pacific — largely because nuclear bombs have the potential to devastate, as I’m sure you know, entire cities, regions and even countries. Though the initial bomb will obliterate any human being or otherwise close enough to the site, that isn’t even the worst part of these bombs.
Rather, it’s the slow-burning after-effects of the radiation, cancer and birth defects. It’s the encasing of bodies in plastic before burying them in cement so as to not spread the epidemic further. Japanese men and women unlucky enough to be exposed to the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still dealing with health effects more than 70 years later. Chernobyl dogs and cats still have traces of radiation in their fur, and birds and insects are just now starting to come back to the region. A nuclear bomb lasts far longer than we think it does, invading everything from our food and water to our blood and cells. In some ways, it’s worse than the plague.
So what do we do? Is there even anything we can do? Well, unfortunately we don’t have a lot of viable options. With a military solution off the table, we might consider taking out Kim Jong-un. However, this strategy, known as “decapitation,” has never been a potent one. Think about it: it’s just not within our power to do something so calculated — the country is extremely heavily guarded, and Kim even more so. We’d have to allocate a significant amount of resources to get the job done smoothly.
Plus, we have no idea how the population might react to an underground U.S. regime change. As far as we know, North Koreans love their leader. It’s also worth noting that our previous stints with regime change haven’t been all that positive. Take, for example, what happened after we ousted Allende in Chile — or in Iran, when we put the Shah back in power only for him to be overthrown almost 20 years later. We can’t make governments abroad — it’s a lesson we have yet to learn, but one that keeps making itself more and more obvious.
Again, we find ourselves wondering, “What do we do?” The answer, in my opinion, may not be one you’ll like.
We accept that North Korea is a nuclear power, and we negotiate them away from building up their arsenal. North Korea, like every country in the world right now, has vested economic and political interests — no matter how isolated their country might be. If we play those interests, we can finally secure peace in the Pacific, and work towards making a safer world.
Look, I know that acceptance is tough, but it’s just naive to think we can stop these types of global powers from getting nuclear bombs in the first place. The intellectual schematics are out there to absorb and replicate, and with proper testing facilities and materials, anyone can make a bomb. We as a species (or more specifically, we as Americans) have willed this kind of warfare into existence, and it’s now our moral obligation to restrain it. Engaging in more warfare for the sake of these bombs isn’t the way to go. Not in 2017, and probably not ever.
It’s good I brought up Iran, because the Iran deal is a good blueprint to follow. It accepts, but it also moves to limit extensively. It sets up a pathway we can effectively use to handle nuclear proliferation in countries hostile toward us.
No one wants a nuclear war — not even North Korea. As wacky as Kim may look, he’s not a sporadic ruler. There’s overwhelmingly evidence out there that he’s just a rational human being who knows how to play the game. So get him to the table and play.
