President Trump, the self-declared master of the deal, bargained in Hanoi with Chairman Kim Jong-un to rid the Korean Peninsula of Kim’s nuclear weapons. No joy!
To date, Kim has been generally affable and unusually agreeable in words. In deeds? As is often the case, Kim’s verbal behavior is incongruent with his actual, instrumental behavior. Different factors controlling speech and action.
“Tell me, tell me, tell me lies. Tell me lies. Tell me sweet little lies.” -from Little Lies (1987) by Christine McVie (b. 1943) and Eddy Quintela (b.1955)
Once again, will a politician’s promises prove empty? Will the currently failed Trump-Kim negotiations ultimately end with Kim’s keeping his nuclear arsenal and being relieved of economic sanctions in exchange for continuing to withhold his threatening, war-like behavior such as firing rockets over Japan?
“The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking, and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.” -Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
The Union of Atomic Scientists warns that the human species is two minutes away from a nuclear Armageddon. Will it begin between India and Pakistan, once again at odds militarily? Between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“North Korea”)?
“I am all peace; But when I speak, they are for war.” -Psalms 120:7
Consider the following, future scenario: In consideration of Kim’s agreeing not to engage in threatening, war-like behavior, Trump lifts some but not all sanctions currently against North Korea, then both sides claim victory.
Some months later, while surreptitiously selling nuclear materials to enemies of these United States, Kim demands removal of the remaining sanctions. Trump refuses unless Kim ceases the selling. Kim demands money and goods. Trump refuses. Kim launches an unarmed missile over Japan. Trump threatens to attack. China warns Trump not to attack unless Kim actually attacks American territory. Trump, nevertheless, launches a non-nuclear attack against some military installations. Retaliating, Kim launches a nuclear attack against Guam. So it goes from there.
Can’t happen? Won’t happen? After all-out nuclear war, nobody will have survived to care about who, what, or how.
The late-physicist, Enrico Fermi (1901-1954), calculated that the odds of there being super-intelligent life in our universe are remote. Reason? Because the ultimate fate of increasing intelligence seems to be self-destruction long before super-intelligence can evolve. Fermi’s pessimistic prognostication will have been confirmed, but who will know? Nobody!
Be there an alternative? Fortunately, yes — possibly. What?
Excerpt from the novel, Inescapable Consequences (2009):
For a number of years, anti-American sentiment in the Republic of Korea had been escalating. Demonstrations occurred regularly, demanding removal of American military forces. President Park had been elected on a platform of rapprochement with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and of antagonism toward the presence of the American forces in the South. He based his political strategy on the assumptions that American forces never would leave unless he ordered them out, which he had no intention of doing, and that American taxpayers would continue paying for the “privilege” of defending South Korea. Besides, relations between the South and the North had been improving considerably.American forces already had removed themselves from the daily lives of the South Koreans, whom they were defending against their cousins to the north. The Americans occupied bases well to the south of the capital, Seoul.
It had been several months since President Kent’s last address to the American people, in which he had announced removal of forces by the end of the year from foreign countries refusing to provide compensation in full for the American presence. During the interim, tens of thousands of South Koreans, mainly young people, held …