How to Tell If North Korea and America Are Actually Headed to War
There are moments—like when the American president threatens to “totally destroy” the nation of North Korea and its raving mad “Little Rocket Man” of a leader, while the North Koreans suggest they’ll retaliate against this “declaration of war” from a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard” by downing U.S. military planes and exploding a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean—when one gets the distinct impression that the United States and North Korea are headed for war.
But while words matter, they aren’t all that matter. Actions may be a better indicator of where the crisis stands and what could come next. And the governments of the alleged dotard and Rocket Man have been taking actions that tell a different story than the apocalyptic rhetoric does.
On Tuesday, for example, the Trump administration announced against North Korea. On Thursday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to China, which at America’s urging has restricted its trade and financial ties with North Korea and supported a missile-defense system in South Korea, with annual U.S.-South Korean military drills, and most recently U.S. bombers and fighter jets just off North Korea’s eastern coast in a show of “resolve.” But these are measures designed to deter North Korean aggression and defend the United States and its allies should deterrence fail, not signs that America is readying for war.
