Inside the mind of the nation’s first president with no military or political background
By: Andrew Ameer
Staff Writer
The prospect of President Donald Trump engaged in a confrontational show of force with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a troubling one.
Trump was elected to the office of President of the United States with no military or political experience — a first for the nation. During his first 100 days in office, Trump has already shown a propensity to use force to solve world issues. I am speaking of course about the 59 cruise missiles fired into a Syrian airbase in response to gas chemical weapons used on civilians there. This doesn’t even mention the dropping of the “Mother Of All Bombs” against ISIS forces in Afghanistan, which is the largest conventional (non-nuclear) weapon in the United States Military’s arsenal.
I would also point out the multiple, thus far unsuccessful, attempts at banning entire populations from certain countries from entering the United States as a defense against terrorist infiltrators. To me, seems like the proverbial using a sledgehammer to kill a fly. This “sledgehammer to kill a fly” approach is becoming a theme for the Trump administration.
All this has happened in just a few short months in office. Now, as tensions rise in the Korean Peninsula, I wonder how President Trump will respond to this crisis. The North Korean leader does not seem eager to back down — on the contrary, the nation continues to escalate the situation — and is performing new military drills and executing new missile tests.
So far, it seems that yet again the president will respond with force. Trump says he ordered an “armada” of U.S. forces to the Korean region — including a nuclear powered submarine, soon to be joined by an aircraft carrier strike group and two Japanese destroyers. Reports have it that Japan is preparing contingency plans for waves of refugees from South Korea should fighting break out.
The U.S. has always remained ready to defend our ally South Korea in the event of fresh conflict breaking out on the peninsula. What is different today is the unique clash of personalities that exists between two of these conflicting nations — Donald Trump in the U.S. and Kim Jong Un in North Korea.
Neither leader likes to lose. Neither leader likes to back down. Both like to act unpredictably. So when the nuclear issue is raised, the question is, how will Trump react?
I believe Trump is capable of a diplomatic victory in Korea. He pressured China to act on the Korean issue, which is a good move and if successful should yield positive results. Trump himself has always said that he would not take the nuclear card off the table.
He has said he would be the last person to “push the button.” My feeling is that if anyone is going to “push the button” since Harry Truman did at the end of WWII, it would be Donald J. Trump. But, for the sake of millions upon millions of innocent people, I hope this never happens.
