NBC News is reporting that events in Korea are moving closer to the edge. Here is the guts of the report:
South Korean President Park Geun-hye appeared to give her country's military permission to strike back at any attack from the North without further word from Seoul, saying she took the North's escalating threats "very seriously," South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
"As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, I will trust the military's judgment on abrupt and surprise provocations by North Korea," she said, according to Yonhap.
Let's be clear what this means. If the fools in North Korea decide to stage a minor attack on South Korea forces like they have in the past, the South Korean military has been authorized to strike back without prior approval from the government. Such a counter attack could well lead to further strikes by the NKs and counterstrikes by the ROKs. In other words, we could see something close to full scale hostilities as the result of some stupid act by the NKs.
In The Guns of August, historian Barbara Tuchman chronicled how World War I started because the political leaders in Europe lost control of the situation to the military. That seems to be what is happening in Korea. It does not mean that there will be war, but it certainly does mean that the prospect for hostilities is much greater than it was just two days ago.
This would be a war in which the USA necessarily would be involved. Not even president Obama and his perpetual dithering could keep us out; we have tens of thousands of troops right there near the DMZ. Now is the time for a strong hand from Washington to steer clear of war. Sadly, unless they decide to start holding campaign rallies in Seoul, it is unlikely that Obama will pay much attention to events in Korea.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye appeared to give her country's military permission to strike back at any attack from the North without further word from Seoul, saying she took the North's escalating threats "very seriously," South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
"As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, I will trust the military's judgment on abrupt and surprise provocations by North Korea," she said, according to Yonhap.
Let's be clear what this means. If the fools in North Korea decide to stage a minor attack on South Korea forces like they have in the past, the South Korean military has been authorized to strike back without prior approval from the government. Such a counter attack could well lead to further strikes by the NKs and counterstrikes by the ROKs. In other words, we could see something close to full scale hostilities as the result of some stupid act by the NKs.
In The Guns of August, historian Barbara Tuchman chronicled how World War I started because the political leaders in Europe lost control of the situation to the military. That seems to be what is happening in Korea. It does not mean that there will be war, but it certainly does mean that the prospect for hostilities is much greater than it was just two days ago.
This would be a war in which the USA necessarily would be involved. Not even president Obama and his perpetual dithering could keep us out; we have tens of thousands of troops right there near the DMZ. Now is the time for a strong hand from Washington to steer clear of war. Sadly, unless they decide to start holding campaign rallies in Seoul, it is unlikely that Obama will pay much attention to events in Korea.
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