NY Times Op-Ed: Bomb North Korea

14 Apr, 2013 by William Teach

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It’s rare that I somewhat find myself agreeing with far left liberals on an issue, but this op-ed piece by Jeremi Suri is absurd

Bomb North Korea, Before It’s Too Late

The Korean crisis has now become a strategic threat to America’s core national interests. The best option is to destroy the North Korean missile on the ground before it is launched. The United States should use a precise airstrike to render the missile and its mobile launcher inoperable.

President Obama should state clearly and forthrightly that this is an act of self-defense in response to explicit threats from North Korea and clear evidence of a prepared weapon. He should give the leaders of South Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan advance notice before acting. And he should explain that this is a limited defensive strike on a military target – an operation that poses no threat to civilians – and that America does not intend to bring about regime change. The purpose is to neutralize a clear and present danger. That is all.

Lots of yammer after that. Let’s skip to the end

Destroying the North Korean missile before it is launched is the best of bad options on the Korean Peninsula. A prolonged crisis would undermine regional security and global efforts to stop nuclear proliferation. And a future war would be much worse. The most prudent move is to eliminate the most imminent military threat in self-defense, establish clear and reasonable limits on future belligerence, and maintain allied unity for stability – not forced regime change – in the region. This is the kind of pre-emptive action that would save lives and maybe even preserve the uneasy peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Lefties like the Booman Tribune, Political Animal, and Lawyers, Guns, and Money attack Suri himself, and forgot to delve into how insane this policy would be. Here’s Booman

My proposal is to load Jeremi Suri in a missile and launch him into the Pacific Ocean. There he can drown. And we can lose the life of one culpable moron instead of the lives of an incalculable number of innocent people who never recommended starting a war with a nuclear-armed country backed by an even better nuclear-armed country.

If Jeremi Suri is allowed to live it will be an act of mercy. But he should then be forced to wear a Depend Adult Undergarment at all times for the rest of his life.

Hmm, advocating life threatening situations simply because Suri espoused an opinion? How tolerant. What I find myself agreeing with the Liberals on is that this is a monumentally stupid idea. You have a relatively new leader in North Korea, and we all know how mentally stable North Korean leaders have been. You have a country with biological, chemical, and nerve weapons, and most likely nuclear weapons (though not necessarily good ones). You have a country with a big, strong military with lots of conventional weapons, and, unlike Iraq, they seem to take care of their weapons and machines (trucks, planes, etc.) The Korean People’s Army, when you include the active, reserve, and paramilitary, is the largest on earth, comprising 40% of the North Korean citizenry. They have lots and lots of short range rockets easily capable of traveling 40-50 miles or more.

Why is that important? The capital of South Korea, Seoul, is a mere 35 miles south of the DMZ. A city of over 11 million people, plus all those in the surrounding countryside. If there was a precision attack on said missile launcher, what would Kim Jong-un do? Are we willing to take the chance of Seoul being attack with possible WMDs along with lots of conventional weapons? There may come a time when it is necessary to take military action, but this is not it.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.