North Korea 3-31-2013

31, March 2013                              North Korea

Did we really need to launch a mock bombing attack on North Korea – B-52 stealth bombers equipped to drop nuclear bombs? This action was highly provocative and unnecessary. Earlier, North Korea acted in response to war maneuvers that we carried out with South Korea – another unnecessary action. The North Koreans might be closeted and isolated but are well aware of our military capabilities. Older Koreans may still remember the carpet bombing of their country which obliterated their nation back to the Stone Age. More than 5 million Koreans perished.Following the armistice, South Korea was hardly a paragon of democracy – it was ruled by brutal dictators for decades. With the massive PR machine of the Pentagon wars are so easily launched. We have squandered $2 trillion dollars on wars in the past decade with trillions more to be spent on caring for our veterans.Each B-2 mock bombing cost approximately $5.5 million, according to Foreign Policy magazine. We have created a huge albatross of defense spending and national security. I wonder how the US would react if North Korea sent nuclear-capable bombers close to our shores and dropped inert bombs as part of a “war game. “Let’s not add North Korea to our long list of military misadventures – Iran (1953 the CIA overthrew the democratically elected leader Mosaddeq) Panama (1967), Vietnam (1955-75), Iraq (2003-12) . . .  If President Nixon could initiate constructive engagement with China (our former adversary), surely we could do the same with North Korea.