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https://www.bloombergquint.com/poli...k-on-u-s-talk-of-all-options-over-north-korea
North Korea has been in the news quite a bit lately, the focus has been on their (ongoing) human rights violations and the new White House's push to have China "reign in the North Korean weapons program"
Why so many stories these days?
Could we guess it's because war is imminent? Before the invasion of Iraq the Republican administration in of that era levied similar complaints about Saddam's human rights violations and weapons programs. If Russia is on-side and gives permission for North Korea to be taken out, the war would likely be a go. Perhaps the U.S will end it's economic sanctions against Russia and pull NATO back from Russia's borders in exchange for permission and support in a war against North Korea.
And once Korea is attacked... well.
The domestic consequences in the US are fairly predictable. The threat of retaliation alone would be enough to restrict rights and liberties in the USA. North Korea could retaliate via terrorism, submarine strike (not bloody likely) or in any other number of ways. You can be sure the media will encourage U.S. citizens to think about every possible way their lives might be threatened. With the support of congress, the senate and perhaps even average people, we could see an even greater enhancement of the surveillance state and further loss of civil liberties, as well as more power being vested in the hands of the executive branch.
North Korea has been in the news quite a bit lately, the focus has been on their (ongoing) human rights violations and the new White House's push to have China "reign in the North Korean weapons program"
Why so many stories these days?
Could we guess it's because war is imminent? Before the invasion of Iraq the Republican administration in of that era levied similar complaints about Saddam's human rights violations and weapons programs. If Russia is on-side and gives permission for North Korea to be taken out, the war would likely be a go. Perhaps the U.S will end it's economic sanctions against Russia and pull NATO back from Russia's borders in exchange for permission and support in a war against North Korea.
And once Korea is attacked... well.
N. Korea is very likely a nuclear power. That doesn't mean they have a delivery system capable of hitting the US but all they'd need to hit South Korea is a damn catapult.
As always, the major stopping point here is how important South Korea is for the global economy, they are a serious player and could be hit by conventional weapons and destroyed in the case of any preemptive attack. The U.S would have to find a way to clear out all of North Korea's weapons delivery capabilities in the first few minutes of any assault.
Another issue is China's potential response. China has leveraged their relationship with North Korea for a long time, holding them on a short leash when the US is acting "fairly" and loosening the leash when they want to saber rattle and threaten the U.S.'s pacific interests. Without North Korea, China will have lost an important ally and key chess piece in their backyard.
However, even if all goes well and South Korea escapes completely unscathed, this all might prove to be a net-negative for the US's geo-strategic position in Asia. As long as North Korea, being the monstrous nation it is, is a threat to South Korea, the South Korean people and government will welcome the presence of US troops. Once North Korea is dealt with, US propaganda will have to turn to China as the ostensible threat that U.S. military power is protecting Korea from. But China is not North Korea. China could wage a soft-power diplomatic propaganda campaign to try and peacefully oust the US military from a newly unified Korea. They would have quite a few new Korean citizens who had been bombed by the U.S. to use as a propaganda tool and surely, if they were granted a vote, would vote against any political party percived to be allied with the United States. In the short term China would lose North Korea but then, in the long term, would enter the race to gain influence and eventually a significant amount of control over the whole of Korea. One generation after this war, Korea could hold a free elections and their system disrupted, chaotic, open to Chinese influence, might forget about China as the boogyman the U.S. is necessary to fight. If the U.S. loses Korea, next up on the docket is Japan.
As always, the major stopping point here is how important South Korea is for the global economy, they are a serious player and could be hit by conventional weapons and destroyed in the case of any preemptive attack. The U.S would have to find a way to clear out all of North Korea's weapons delivery capabilities in the first few minutes of any assault.
Another issue is China's potential response. China has leveraged their relationship with North Korea for a long time, holding them on a short leash when the US is acting "fairly" and loosening the leash when they want to saber rattle and threaten the U.S.'s pacific interests. Without North Korea, China will have lost an important ally and key chess piece in their backyard.
However, even if all goes well and South Korea escapes completely unscathed, this all might prove to be a net-negative for the US's geo-strategic position in Asia. As long as North Korea, being the monstrous nation it is, is a threat to South Korea, the South Korean people and government will welcome the presence of US troops. Once North Korea is dealt with, US propaganda will have to turn to China as the ostensible threat that U.S. military power is protecting Korea from. But China is not North Korea. China could wage a soft-power diplomatic propaganda campaign to try and peacefully oust the US military from a newly unified Korea. They would have quite a few new Korean citizens who had been bombed by the U.S. to use as a propaganda tool and surely, if they were granted a vote, would vote against any political party percived to be allied with the United States. In the short term China would lose North Korea but then, in the long term, would enter the race to gain influence and eventually a significant amount of control over the whole of Korea. One generation after this war, Korea could hold a free elections and their system disrupted, chaotic, open to Chinese influence, might forget about China as the boogyman the U.S. is necessary to fight. If the U.S. loses Korea, next up on the docket is Japan.
The domestic consequences in the US are fairly predictable. The threat of retaliation alone would be enough to restrict rights and liberties in the USA. North Korea could retaliate via terrorism, submarine strike (not bloody likely) or in any other number of ways. You can be sure the media will encourage U.S. citizens to think about every possible way their lives might be threatened. With the support of congress, the senate and perhaps even average people, we could see an even greater enhancement of the surveillance state and further loss of civil liberties, as well as more power being vested in the hands of the executive branch.
