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.
