Stanley Kurtz argues that the US may have to make a preemptive strike on North Korea in the near future.
Unlike Iraq, North Korea now undoubtedly has 5-10 nuclear weapons and the capability to launch them. Unless we can create a strike that would destroy all those nukes and their launch facilities before they could be fired, Tokyo and Seoul would likely be reduced to ashes in the first shots of the war. The US would win the war, but at a cost higher than any conflict since Vietnam.
Our options in regards to North Korea are slim to none at this point. Kurtz is right in pointing out that diplomacy is unlikely to produce any benefit in the region, and that any efforts at a diplomatic resolution only stall the inevitable. The best we can hope for is a swift collapse of Kim Jung-Il’s government, and that seems highly unlikely.
Kurtz may be right – war could be inevitable. Hopefully by the time that nightmare scenario comes to play, let’s hope that ABM technology has made some major leaps in effectiveness.
