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US Military Madness
WW I French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau was right, saying: “War is too important to be left to the generals.” Trump delegated warmaking to neocon hawkish generals, favoring belligerence over diplomacy – heading toward escalated war on Syria along with possibly striking North Korea preemptively. Trump’s geopolitical agenda risks confrontation with multiple countries. It risks nuclear war in Europe and East Asia.
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Russia warned it’ll down US warplanes and missiles if its personnel in Syria are endangered. US policymakers and Pentagon officials know it. So far, they’ve restrained their actions to avoid confrontation with Russia. Following the US attack on Syria’s Shayrat airbase, do Trump and hawkish administration officials feel emboldened to escalate war for regime change? Has the die been cast? Is another false flag planned as pretext for more aggressive attacks, risking direct confrontation with Russia? Did the Mother of All Bombs (MOAB) dropped on Afghanistan for the first time in combat anywhere signal escalated US aggression in multiple theaters? Was it a show of force for this purpose?
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Russia has a weapon nicknamed the Father of All Bombs, claimed to be four times more powerful than America’s MOAB, with twice the blast radius, affecting around a 2-mile area in circumference.
With millions of deaths as a result of Washington’s meddling and military aggression, all North Korea wants is reassurances about its security, something Washington has continually denied, maintaining a state of constant tension and belligerence in the peninsula. The US has even refused to sign a treaty formally ending the Korean War of the 1950s.
With millions of deaths as a result of Washington’s meddling and military aggression, all North Korea wants is reassurances about its security, something Washington has continually denied, maintaining a state of constant tension and belligerence in the peninsula. The US has even refused to sign a treaty formally ending the Korean War of the 1950s.
A bomb this powerful could destroy Chicago’s loop, including everything up to where I live two miles north of center city, a frightening prospect. East Asia tensions are rising with the deployment of the USS Carl Vinson strike group off North Korea’s coast. Its Vice Minister Han Song-ryol warned Washington against provoking his country militarily, saying “(w)e will go to war if they choose.”
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“If the US comes with reckless military maneuvers then we will confront it with the DPRK’s preemptive strike…We’ve got a powerful nuclear deterrent already in our hands, and we certainly will not keep our arms crossed in the face of a US preemptive strike.”
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His remarks followed the Trump administration’s possible military option to counter Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile capability. It could come ahead of or following a possible nuclear test to commemorate Kim Il-sung’s 105th anniversary on Saturday, North Korea’s founder. According to Han, “(t)hat is something that our headquarters decides. At a time and at a place where the headquarters deems necessary, it will take place.”
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He blamed Trump administration officials for rising tensions, including provocative US/South Korean military exercises and deploying the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group close to its border.
Also a Tuesday Trump tweet, saying “North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem without them! USA…Trump is always making provocations with his aggressive words,” said Han. “It’s not the DPRK but the US and Trump that makes trouble.”
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“The (North Korean) problem will be taken care of,” Trump blustered. Does he have “decapitation strikes” in mind? Will he recklessly attack North Korea, risking a nuclear response with thousands of US forces in harm’s way? China warned against it. So did South Korea. Japan wants to be consulted before any military action. Trump’s possible North Korea solution may be far worse than the so-called “problem” he cites. On April 12, China’s government-connected Global Times headlined “Is North Korea nuclear crisis reaching a showdown” – what Beijing very much wants avoided?
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“Washington’s latest threat to Pyongyang is more credible given its just launched missile attack at an air base in Syria,” said GT. The Korean Peninsula has never been so close to a military clash since the North conducted its first nuclear test in 2006.”
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Another on its Saturday Day of the Sun Kim Il-sung commemoration would be its sixth. “Pyongyang hopes its gamble will work, but all signs point to the opposite direction,” said GT. China supports resolving the North Korean issue diplomatically, GT saying “(i)f the US takes unilateral action, it will win little international support.”
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Beijing doesn’t oppose Pyongyang’s “tough stance,” provided it halts provocative nuclear and ballistic missile tests – risking unacceptable war on the Korean peninsula.
Preemptive US Strike on North Korea Imminent?
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n Thursday, NBC News said the Trump administration “is prepared to launch a preemptive strike with conventional weapons against North Korea should officials become convinced (it’s) about to follow through with (another) nuclear weapons test, (according to) multiple senior US intelligence officials…”
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Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear weapons test could come Saturday – commemorating Kim Il-sung’s 105th birthday, the nation’s founder. The USS Vinson aircraft carrier strike group is positioned off North Korea’s coast, able to launch cruise missile and aerial attacks. Guam-based US heavy bombers could be used, NBC News said, adding a “US strike could include missiles and bombs, cyber and special operations on the ground.”
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Center for Strategic and International Studies Korea chair analyst Victor Cha lied, claiming Pyongyang’s leadership “has shown absolutely no sign or interest in diplomacy or dialogue (on) this issue.” For decades, North Korea sought normalized relations with America and other nations, its good faith efforts rebuffed. Simply, all North Korea wants is reassurances about its security, something Washington has continually denied maintaining a state of constant tension and belligerence in the peninsula.
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Its government justifiably fears another US-led war on its territory – why it chose to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, hoping to deter another hugely destructive war. NBC News cited unnamed sources, saying Washington “is aware that simply preparing an attack, even if it will only be launched if there is an ‘imminent’ North Korean action, increases the danger of provoking a large conflict.”
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According to an unnamed senior US intelligence official, the stakes are “high…We are trying to communicate our level of concern and the existence of many military options to dissuade the North first. It’s a feat that we’ve never achieved before, but there is a new sense of resolve here.”
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China sent its top nuclear negotiators to Pyongyang to try heading off potential disaster, said NBC News. On Tuesday, the Kremlin said Moscow is “gravely concerned about Washington’s plans regarding North Korea, considering hints about the unilateral use of a military scenario.” On Friday, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi “urge(d) all parties to refrain from inflammatory or threatening statements and deeds to prevent the situation on the Korean Peninsula from becoming irreversible.”
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“On the Korean peninsula, it is not the one who espouses harsher rhetoric or raises a bigger fist that will win,” he added. If nuclear war on the Korean peninsula erupts, everyone loses. If Washington intends striking North Korea preemptively, it could come today ahead of a possible nuclear test, conducted as part of Saturdays Kim Il-sung commemoration.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
STEPHEN LENDMAN lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." ( http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html ) Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE: No material by this author or any other author published on this site should be read as a defense of Donald trump and his policies. For us Trump, the GOP and the Democrats are all part of the same malignant threat to world peace, democracy, truth, elementary decency and honesty in government affairs afflicting the US and the rest of the world.
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