AN EVOLVING STRATEGY – AT 10:58 A.M. ET:  What to do about North Korea?  We're told that all the options are bad, but that's actually true in most international crises.  If not, they wouldn't be called crises.

What is the administration thinking?  From Barbara Starr, a CNN reporter I trust:   

(CNN) As tensions continue to ratchet up with North Korea, CNN has learned that the US is considering shooting down a North Korean ballistic missile even if it does not directly threaten the US or its allies.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Defense Secretary James Mattis said North Korea is "intentionally doing provocations that seem to press against the envelope for just how far can they push without going over some kind of a line in their minds that would make them vulnerable." 

An official directly familiar with options planning within the Trump administration told CNN the question that now needs to be answered is whether North Korea's missile program has progressed to the level of being such an inherent threat that the Pentagon would recommend targeting a missile even if its trajectory did not indicate it would hit the US or its allies. The official declined to speak on the record because of the sensitivity of the issue.

While US officials have long said the military maintains a full range of options for dealing with North Korea, the notion of shooting down a missile has largely centered on conducting an operation if the missile were to directly threaten the US or its allies. There has been particular concern since Kim Jong Un recently threatened the US territory of Guam.

The idea of shooting down a missile even if it is not a direct threat is not new. But with two recently launched North Korean missiles flying over northern Japan, the potential for having to consider a shoot-down without a direct threat remains very real, according to one senior defense official.

COMMENT:  It must remain a real possibility.  The heat on North Korea must be kept high.  There are risks, of course – a key one being the chance that our technology would fail and we would be humiliated if the attempted shootdown does not succeed.  There is also the risk that North Korea would react in a completely irrational manner. 

At least President Trump is addressing the threat seriously.  Previous presidents have simply kicked the can down the road through endless, and ultimately futile, negotiations.

September 19,  2017