Back to...

GET VISIBLE! Advertise Here. Find Out More




Share Our Stories! - Click Here



 

Washington Threatens To Ignite
The Korean Peninsula Tinderbox


By Stephen Lendman
stephenlendman.org
12-20-17

 
Permanent war is official US policy, peace and stability anathema notions. The danger of nuclear war perhaps is greater than any previous time.

Interviewed by the BBC on Monday, US National Security Advisor HR McMaster said Washington has “to be prepared, if necessary, to compel the denuclearization of North Korea” unilaterally - barely stopping short of declaring war on the country, perhaps ahead at the Trump administration’s discretion.

McMaster lied calling the DPRK “a grave threat to all civilized people across the globe” - a dubious distinction applying solely to America, NATO, Israel and their imperial allies.

Separately, McMaster added “(w)e’re out of time with this problem,” an ominous warning.

He blasted Russia as well, outrageously saying the Kremlin “is engaged in a very sophisticated campaign of subversion to affect our confidence in democratic institutions, in democratic processes - including elections,” adding:

“What they want to do is create the kind of tension, the kind of vitriol, which undermines our confidence in who we are.”

Washington gave China a new draft resolution for tougher Security Council sanctions on North Korea.

When will Beijing and Moscow say no more? Both countries admitted sanctions are counterproductive, encouraging the DPRK to continue advancing its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

An earlier US draft resolution rejected by both countries called for a naval blockade and total oil embargo, similar unacceptable provisions perhaps in what the Trump administration intends proposing.

Russia’s UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya warned that “(b)elligerent rhetoric and reckless show of muscle have led to a situation when the whole world is making guesses about the probability of a war,” adding:

“It is a fact of life that in such a tense situation any reckless or wrongly interpreted step may trigger deplorable consequences.”

North Korea will never abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, given the ominous threat of possible US aggression.

On Monday, an editorial in Pyongyang’s Rodong Sinmum broadsheet said its leadership rejects talks with America, knowing its aim is getting the DPRK to abandon its most important deterrent weapons, stressing:

“The US is trying to shift responsibility for tensions on the Korean Peninsula to us with its offensive dialogue.”

“The move is seen as being intended to set the tone for manipulating new UN Security Council resolutions that may include a maritime blockade if we do not accept dialogue aimed at discussing the abandonment of our nuclear weapons.”

“There is no change in our stance that we will not budge an inch in our march toward strengthening our nuclear force.”

The broadsheet accused the Trump administration of duplicity -  on the one hand threatening “fire and fury” to destroy North Korea, then suggesting talks with no preconditions to exert maximum pressure on the country for denuclearization.

Tensions remain high, the threat of regional nuclear war ominously real. America’s imperial madness makes anything possible.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
 
My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html