Monday, August 14, 2017

Donald Trump Versus Kim Jong-un: A War Of Words

                Remarkably, many in the media, both In the U.S. and around the world, are portraying President Trump as a bigger threat to the planet than Kim Jong-un. And it’s not just many in the media that are mad. Politicians and entertainment types have jumped on the Raving Train, too. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) recently said of Trump: “North Korea is a serious thing. You have this guy making bellicose threats against somebody else who has very little to lose over there. Kim Jong Un, the world always thought he was not a responsible leader; well, he’s acting more responsible than this guy is.” This guy?
                Not to be outdone, 62 House Democrats wrote a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, expressing their “profound concern” over statements by Trump they purport to believe have “dramatically increased tensions with North Korea and raised the specter of nuclear war.” They called Trump’s “fire and fury” speech “irresponsible and dangerous.”
                In the interest of fairness, let’s examine what each of the two leaders have said regarding the current crisis. First, here are some verifiable (and certifiable) quotes from the Dear Leader, Kim Jong-un, and his official government mouthpieces:
                After overseeing the launch of a Hwasong-14 missile in early July, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim Jong-un exclaimed: “American bastards would not be very happy with this gift sent on the July 4 anniversary.” Then, breaking into peals of laughter, he said: “We should send them gifts once in a while to help break their boredom.” The Dear Leader then added that the missile looked “as handsome as a good-looking boy.” Alrighty then.
                Several weeks before that statement, Jong-un averred that his country “can tip new-type intercontinental ballistic rockets with more powerful nuclear warheads and keep any cesspool of evils in the earth, including the U.S. mainland, within our striking range.”
                Then there is this nugget: “If the American imperialists provoke us a bit, we will not hesitate to slap them with a pre-emptive nuclear strike. The United States must choose! It’s up to you whether the nation called the United States exists on this planet or not.” 
Speaking of pre-emptive strikes: "The KPA Strategic Force is now carefully examining the operational plan for making an enveloping fire at the areas around Guam with medium-to-long-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 in order to contain the U.S. major military bases on Guam including the Anderson Air Force Base.”
KCNA reported: “The Trump administration should not run riot, thinking twice about the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its foolhardy military moves. It should properly understand the spirit and will of the Korean army and people to annihilate the enemy and finally conclude the standoff with the U.S.”
                And: “The Korean People’s Army will reduce the bases of aggression and provocation to ashes with its invincible Hwasong rockets tipped with nuclear warheads and reliably defend the security of the country and its people’s happiness in case the US and the South Korean puppet forces fire even a single bullet at the territory of the DPRK.”

            Also, in a statement distributed through state-run media: "If the Trump administration does not want the American empire to meet its tragic doom in its tenure, they had better talk and act properly.”
                Then there was the recent statement boasting that the North Korean military is "capable of fighting any war the U.S. wants is now on the standby to launch fire into its mainland, waiting for an order of final attack.”
And my personal favorite, from the KCNA again: "We consider the U.S. no more than a lump which we can beat to a jelly any time.”
Since taking power, Jong-un has executed scores of his generals and party officials, some via anti-aircraft missile fire, for such crimes as falling asleep during a meeting with the Dear Leader. The regime has referred to defectors from the starving nation as the “burlesque of human scum.” Kim Jong-un had his uncle and mentor, Jang Song-thaek, executed in December 2013, accusing him of plotting a coup. He labeled Song-thaek “worse than a dog,” and said he had “lost his mind due to his greed for power.” Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
                Yet, on the bright side, upon the successful launch of a long-range missile at the end of 2012, the then newly-ensconced leader said, “Suddenly, the whole country is engulfed with happiness and the people endlessly inspired.”
                Contrast these “statements” with president Trump’s craziest and most “belligerent” utterances:
"North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen... he has been very threatening beyond a normal state. They will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before.” Trump followed that up by saying, “if anything, maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough.”
He has also said of Jong-un, “He will not get away with what he’s doing,” and that, if he attacks the United States, “He will regret it fast.”
Trump also stated that the U.S. is “locked and loaded” if a military solution is required, and most recently remarked: “We will see what happens. We think that lots of good things can happen and we can also have a bad solution.”
It is decades of “diplomacy,” patience, and un-seriousness that got us into the situation we- and the world- now find ourselves in, and that allowed the Hermit Kingdom to become an existential threat to most of the rest of the planet.
One of North Korea’s military leaders recently called Trump "bereft of reason," and said he was "extremely getting on the nerves" of its armed forces.
Bingo.
That’s exactly what Trump wants, and exactly what’s required to eventually put an end to this ridiculous Mexican standoff. For over 241 years, the world has been better off with a confident and ascendant America, whether it chooses to recognize that fact or not. Theodore Roosevelt famously said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” After Pearl Harbor, F.D.R. proclaimed: “With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God.” Later in that same war, Harry Truman was very clear on the potential consequences of the hydrogen bomb.
 J.F.K. stated: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, and oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
And Ronald Reagan went to Berlin and stood outside of the Brandenburg gate and said: “Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
A madman repeatedly threatens to unleash a pre-emptive nuclear strike on America, and yet many major American newspapers recently published headlines like the one that adorned the front page of my big city rag: “Trump amps up his bellicose threats.” That is truly crazy.
The press, academia, Hollywood, et. al., are without question, “bereft of reason.”
Twenty-odd years of “sanity” in dealing with the Kim clan has proven to be in vain- and therefore insane. Continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results is one definition of insanity. It is time that we got the attention of the Dear Leader by acting “worse than a dog.” Like a rabid junkyard dog, to be precise.  Perhaps then he will realize that this big dog will once again fight if you rattle its cage.
Newsflash to snowflakes: North Korea is the world’s anus, and only a bad-ass can stop it from crapping on him.




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