The Littlest Bully

 

 

 

 

 

“The crime which is done now is that war has made a tool and slave of science, and man's knowledge, painfully and laboriously compiled, is made the instrument of man's destruction.”

Leonard Wibberley

The Mouse that Roared

When I was a young lad, I was bullied from time to time. As I grew and became bigger and less tolerant of bullies, the bullying stopped. I feared no bully - with one exception. I feared then, and I fear now, someone who has nothing to lose. Getting into any type of altercation with someone who has nothing to lose puts you at a disadvantage unless you feel the same way.

For some reason, known to few (if anyone), this young kid, the heir to one of the poorest countries in the world, has decided to pick a fight with ---- us. The irony of this latest threat is this - North Korea continues to be a country of limited resources where people actually starve to death. Yes, in 2013, in a world awash in food, people in North Korea starve to death. When North Korea plays nice, the United States as well as other western countries send much needed food to North Korea.

So yesterday, North Korea's very young leader, Kim Jong-un announced that his nukes were not up for negotiation. He was going to continue on with developing the program as well as rebuild his economy. Really? How is that? North Korea has absolutely no economy - no resources. What very little they have they pour into the military and their nuclear program. To make matters worse (or and they have become worse), Kim Jong-un has abrogated the cease fire between North and South Korea, and announced "a state of war" now exists between the two countries. The final straw was to tell America he was going to nuke cities on our mainland.

Some take this young leader seriously, others double over in laughter. I tend to side with the former. Do I believe he can make good on his recent threats? Absolutely not. Do I believe he is capable of doing something incredibly stupid that would be a game changer in the region? Absolutely yes. He is capable because he has nothing to lose. He is a bully that would love to inflict catastrophic damage on both South Korea and America.

By treaty, we are locked at the hip with South Korea. If there is an incursion by the North south of the 38th parallel, things will happen very fast. The worst scenario would be if the North decided to use a nuke on South Korea or try to hit a US base in Japan. Within 20 minutes of such an attack, all hell would be breaking out over North Korea. We would not only destroy the North Korean Army, hundreds of thousands of innocent people would also die. It would be a very dark day for humanity. All because this "kid" running North Korea did not know how to control his bluster.

What we are seeing today is the result of the world turning a blind eye and tin ear to small, undisciplined countries trying to become a member of the nuclear club. Pakistan, North Korea, and soon Iran. Bad actors, all of them. We can stop Iran, if we do it quickly. It will involve more than writing them a letter or scolding them. It would mean strong military action. If we do nothing (which lately we are very good at), in five years we can have a North Korea scenario in the Middle East. 

Bottom line is this - this is a big, big problem right now for not only the region, but the world. We have not had to use nukes in anger since World War II, and we never want to use them again. However, Kim Jong-un might make us use these horrible weapons. If we do, may God forgive us all for what will happen next.