OUR WARM NEW FRIENDS – AT 10:43 A.M. ET: I guess the North Koreans are just jealous over the attention we're giving Europe right now. We understand. It's not fun to be ignored. From The New York Times:
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea released a propaganda video on Saturday that depicts a nuclear strike on Washington, along with a warning to “American imperialists” not to provoke the North.
The four-minute video clip, titled “Last Chance,” uses computer animation to show what looks like an intercontinental ballistic missile flying through the earth’s atmosphere before slamming into Washington, near what appears to be the Lincoln Memorial. A nuclear explosion follows.
“If the American imperialists provoke us a bit, we will not hesitate to slap them with a pre-emptive nuclear strike,” read the Korean subtitles in the video, which was uploaded to the YouTube channel of DPRK Today, a North Korean website. “The United States must choose! It’s up to you whether the nation called the United States exists on this planet or not.”
Such remarks are in line with recent threats and assertions from North Korea about its nuclear and missile capabilities. The North recently threatened a nuclear strike against Washington in retaliation for new United Nations sanctions, which were imposed this month to punish North Korea for its most recent tests of a nuclear device and a long-range rocket.
COMMENT: Some might be inclined to dismiss threats like that. I'm not. Dictatorships often threaten what they're really thinking. And, after 9/11, why should we assume we're immune to a nuclear attack? We never assumed that during the Cold War, after all. That's why we maintained, and continue to maintain, a massive nuclear deterrent.
But what if a nuclear-armed country cannot be deterred? What if its fanaticism overcomes all reason? That is a legitimate fear, especially when dealing with nations like North Korea. It is equally legitimate when dealing with terrorist groups, who inevitably will obtain some kind of weapon of mass destruction.
March 26, 2016 |