I can hear the war drums getting closer
Sep 19, 2017, 6:02 AM
I can hear the war drums getting closer.
Ross: Can we discuss this? Or is it insensitive?
“It’s absolutely critical that we all, every one of our countries, do everything humanly possible in the months ahead to avert an armed conflict and convince North Korea that their path of seeking nuclear weapons is the wrong path,” General Mark A. Milley said.
The US Army chief of staff was speaking to a gathering of diplomats in Seoul, South Korea:
“North Korea lays only 27 miles north of here, and they are clearly and unambiguously threatening their neighbors, flying missiles over Japan, provoking South Korea, and clearly and unambiguously threatening the United States.”
Over the weekend, President Trump labeled North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “Rocket Man” on Twitter.
General James Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Norway that the military is giving diplomacy a chance. He’s hoping the tighter sanctions approved by the United Nations will make a difference.
On CBS’s Face the Nation, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said it would be easy for North Korea to back away from the edge.
“We have tried a couple of times to signal to them we’re ready when they’re ready and they have responded with more missile launches and a nuclear test.”
He says the United States has tried to reassure North Korea that nuclear weapons are unnecessary for it’s defense — that the United States does not seek regime change; nor a regime collapse; nor is it trying to immediately re-unify the Korean peninsula, or find a reason to send U.S. forces north of the demilitarized zone.
“All of this is backed up by a very strong and resolute military option. But be clear, we seek a peaceful solution to this.”
However, “If our diplomatic efforts fail though, our military option will be the only one left.”
And that’s the option that seems to be getting closer. As National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster put it on “Fox News Sunday,” “We’re running out of road.”
“This regime is so close now to threatening the United States and others with a nuclear weapon, that we really have to move with a great deal of urgency on sanctions, on diplomacy, and on preparing, if necessary, a military option.”
-
Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
