Criticized by the press for his Aug. 5 “fire and fury” remarks, 71-year-old President Donald Trump has done the unthinkable: Forced North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un to stand down. No one in the media or Congress gave Trump any credit for standing up to the 33-year-old dictator, threatening the U.S. with nuclear war. Kin said repeatedly he would reduce the United State of America to ashes, insisting he currently has the nuclear-ready Intercontinental Ballistic Missile [ICBM] required to ht the U.S. homeland. Democrats and Republicans alike blamed Trump for escalating the tensions on the Korean Peninsula, when, in fact, his “fire-and-fury” remarks backed by Defense Secretary James Mattis Aug. 6 comments that Kim faced certain “regime change” and “destruction of the North Korean people” forced the dictator to back down. No one in the media or Congress admitted as much.
Trump’s strong message to North Korea did exactly the opposite of the press and his critics on Capitol Hill: Escalating the conflict. When Mattis and Gen. Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. was ready to apply the military option, Kim backed down on his tHreat to hit the U.S. territory of Guam with ballistic missiles. Trump’s critics on Capitol Hill and the media said Trump’s belligerent rhetoric escalated the crisis, which it did not. “If they fired at the United States [including Guam] it could escalate into war very quickly,” said Mattis, reinforcing Trump’s Aug. 11 message that the U.S. was “locked-and-loaded,” also criticized by the media. Whether or not China got through to Kim is anyone’s guess. All anyone has to go on is that Trump warned Kim not to mess with the U.S. or face the consequences, including military action.
Backing down from his threat on Guam, Kim said he’d wait until he sees what else the “Yankees” do in response to upcoming war games near South Korea. But whatever Kim’s past threats, he’s met his match with Trump, unlike former Presidents George W. Bush and Obama, both of whom let Kim develop his nuke and ballistic missiles programs. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said his highest priority was peace on the Korean Peninsula. Moon heard directly from Gen. Dunford that the U.S. mission in North Korea, at the moment, was not preventing an invasion but ending Kim’s pursuit of nukes and ICBMs. Moon wants peace much like Finland and Poland acquiesced to the old Soviet Union. Moon hasn’t gotten the picture that Trump’s North Korea policy is about stopping Kim, before it’s too late, from getting an operational nuclear-ready ICBM.
Responding tit-for-tat between Trump and Kim, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for restraint, telling Washington that he opposed any attempt on the U.S. for regime change in Pyongyang. Penning an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal Aug. 12, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Mattis told North Korea the U.S. did not seek regime change. Kim got the message that as long as the U.S. didn’t seek to re-unify the two Koreas, China would stay neutral if Kim attacked Guam or any other U.S. territory. Losing China’s help, Kim realized he had to stop threatening the U.S. or face a unilateral U.S. attack on North Korea without help from China. Causing more worry for Kim, Mattis said the decision over war was Trump’s. “War is up to the president, and perhaps up to Congress,” said Mattis. “The bottom line is we will defend our country from attack,” telling Kim he’s on thin ice.
Of all the places on the planet, the U.S. has more assets in the Pacific Rim with which to attack North Korea. U.S. has more B-1 Stealth Bombers than anywhere else. “Regime change and reunification” is not in the cards, said Dunford, meeting China’s No. 1 concern that a war would cause North Koreans to flood across the Chinese border. No one knows whether or not Kim’s second thought on hitting Guam will lead to reservations about pursuing his nuke and ICBM program. Trump’s main concern is about Kim getting a nuclear-ready ICBM to hit the U.S. homeland. Promising to take out any missiles fired toward Guam, Mattis said the U.S. would “within moments” take out any incoming North Korean missiles with the Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense [THAAD] system now deployed to South Korea. Kim hit a brick wall trying to intimidate Trump.
Put back in his place, Kim Jong-un looks more like a tin-pot dictator, blowing a lot of smoke but knowing if he pushes too hard, he’ll lose his grip on power. Trump’s critics in the media and in Congress, now consumed by Charlottesville, need to acknowledge that Trump played his cards perfectly with Kim. Trump put the fear of God into Kim, knowing that one wrong move could end his year-and-a-half stint in power. Once Tillerson and Mattis stated in the Journal for the record that the U.S. did not seek “regime change” or “reunification,” Kim could no longer count on China’s protection. Unless Kim comes to the bargaining table at some point over his nuke and ballistic missile program, Trump will seek preemptive war to stop Kim from getting a nuclear-ready ICBM. It’s high time for the media to give Trump some credit for defending U.S. national security.
