The Indispensable Nation and the Dear Leader

Image by Rob Rogers

North Korea is branded a rogue nation with their Dear Leader portrayed as a psychopath bent on destroying the US or any nation that criticises him or his alleged provocative actions. His persistent testing of missiles which are assumed to be nuclear capable ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) is condemned daily, by specifically, the US and its allies and perpetuated by a pliant mainstream media. The global perception, as a result of this condemnation and media frenzy, unsurprisingly categorizes the North Korean leader as an evil maniac itching to start another world war. On the face of it, the projected perception makes any logical thinking person agree with this status quo. But as in any situation, there are always two sides to a story, and this little story is no exception. 

The history of the North Korean/US relationship goes way back to the Korean War between North Korea/China and South Korea/US from 1950 through 1953. Near the end of the war, the US military ran amok on the Korean Peninsula, and wiped out approximately 30% of the North Korean population. Included in its vast arsenal of conventional weapons, chemical weapons (Napalm) were used in abundance. The amount far exceeded the quantity used in the entire Second World War by the US. The destruction wrought was a deliberate, horrific slaughter of men, women and children from a war mongering nation against another. In the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, only two buildings were left standing. A total of seventy eight cities were flattened.  The US only relented when the Chinese intervened. The North Koreans will never forget; and all its leaders since, have vowed never again would their nation be subjected to such brutality. Thus, it was agreed that the only way they could protect themselves from such brutality was to create a deterrent. Hence, the North Korean Nuclear arms programme.

Since the Korean war, the US maintained up to 54 military bases in South Korea,  but eventually scaling down to the current 16, with at least three on the border of the two countries. This excludes the bases stationed in Japan and the Island of Okinawa of which there are no less than 20. With these bases in South Korea, the US, in partnership with the South Korean military, conducts annual military exercises on the peninsula with a strategic focus of the “decapitation of Kim Jong Un and his Generals”; basically, regime change. As if that is not enough provocation, the US persistently overflies B-1B bombers over North Korea in “simulations” with their ally.  Suffice it to say, these B-1B bombers flies from a military base in Guam. This may explain the Dear Leader’s threat of a possible attack on Guam. A total of eleven such overflights had occurred since May 2017. The simulation exercises for this year, bizarrely named Ulchi-Freedom Guardian, is taking place throughout this month of August, and includes the militaries of South Korea (50, 000 troops), Australia, Canada, Netherlands and Japan.

By now you are probably wondering why the US is threatening and bullying a small country like North Korea with a population of only 26 million people. Without stressing the obvious fact that the US government is nothing but a schoolyard bully, who finds pleasure in picking a fight with small nations who are unable to fight back, (like Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Granada, Yemen), this is no exception, but with underlying strategic intentions.

Let me put this into perspective. North Korea is the only country in North East Asia that is not an ally of the US/West, but is instead aligned with China and Russia. China is North Korea’s number one economic trading partner, with Russia being the second. The US strategically wants total control over the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan in its bid to contain China’s influence in the region and in so doing have complete control of Regional Economic activity aligned with its own interests. The growth of the Chinese economy and the expansion of their regional influence (throughout Asia and Eastern Europe) have the US government pissing in their pants. The strategic partnership between Russia and China on all diplomatic fronts, has already gained significant traction in Eastern Europe and Central/South Asia through bodies such as ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and the EEU (Eurasian Economic Union). The diplomatic relationships and trade partnerships forged between members of these Organisations are changing the political and economic landscapes in the region. For obvious reasons, the US and the West is doing whatever they can to derail this amalgamation of nations.

The Chinese have a standard military agreement in place with North Korea since 1961, in that, should the North Koreans be attacked militarily, the Chinese are obliged to assist militarily. Conversely, should the North Koreans invoke a military provocation and start a war, the Chinese would be neutral. The tense stand-off of the US/Korean crisis, has seen China and Russia call for restraint on both sides and urged the US to refrain from their provocation with their military exercises in exchange for Pyongyang suspending their missile tests. The latest missile test by Pyongyang is a direct response to the persistent military exercises by the US and its allies. Yet, only one side of this situation is covered by the mainstream media with the US playing the victim amid threats of full scale war against North Korea. However, all this rhetoric, sabre rattling and hubris coming out of Washington will amount to nothing lest they forget the implications of starting a fire fight with the Dear Leader.

Donald Trump and his battle with the Deep State

The last time I wrote about The Donald, I defended his success in the US Elections in 2016.  Some friends voiced their disappointment in my stance, yet others (childishly) unfriended and blocked my profiles on Social Media. I don’t know what it is, but when everyone else goes left, I will unassumingly go right! Maybe it’s that silent rebel in me, or that uncontrollable urge to piss people off!

Anyway, my analysis was partly based on his promises and commitments to the American people and his stance on America’s foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere.  Though it probably has always been a risk trusting politicians with their promises during campaign trails, I threw my hat in with the Donald due to my distrust of a Presidency of one Hilary Rodham Clinton. This scepticism was based purely on her history of sowing chaos in the Middle East (Libya, Yemen) and Eastern Europe (Ukraine). I firmly believed that Hilary Clinton would have been the cause of the next global war between nuclear armed countries. I firmly believed that this woman was crazy enough to instigate such a global catastrophe. If you have seen the video of her interview commenting on the destruction of Libya and the death of Muhammar Gadhafi, you would understand what I’m talking about.

With a reflection on the list of failures in his career, and his family’s alleged affiliation with the far right, The Donald’s success in the White House was always going to be questionable and controversial.  His success at the polls was the last thing that was expected from liberal America and prior to the elections Hilary Clinton’s rise to the White House was a forgone conclusion by every media pundit trolling the mainstream media; Little did they know that rural America was going to have none of it, and was sick of the cyclical bullshit every US President had brought to their Society since the first Clinton enjoyed fellatio in the White House. They were sick of the endless wars their government was sowing around the world. They wanted real change locally. They wanted someone who would provide some hope of rebuilding their country, and not send their fathers, sons, brothers, and partners to remote areas of the globe to fight wars which had very little bearing or influence on the prosperity of their society. On the contrary, these wars fueled more hatred for the US government, from almost every other nation in the world, especially in the Middle East. In Donald Trump, they had a flicker of hope; not much, but it was a better choice than ordering more of the same in Hilary Clinton. They knew that in Clinton, nothing would change, but things would probably get worse. Her political scandals did little to convince the American public that she was the real deal. Thus, the electorate decided that they would choose the lesser of two evils, in Donald Trump.

Donald Trump’s first 100 days in the White House was not convincing, and there was little evidence of commitment to his campaign promises. He flip flopped on various issues and occasionally did or said the exact opposite of what he promised. He changed staff in his team the way American Football players are substituted. He would say one thing today, and a few days later would totally reverse and take a different stance. After the first one hundred days, it was starting to look like The Donald was totally out of his depth and it seemed like he didn't have a clue.

One of the things Trump promised on his campaign trail, was that he was going to “drain the swamp” when he got to the White House.  He implied that he was going to purge his administration of the undesirable factions whose agenda was not consistent with the policies of the US Government or in the interests of the American Public. On his arrival in Washington, he realized that this draining the swamp would be more challenging than hanging someone from a tree in the Deep South. He realized that running the US Administration was not the same as running an Academy of MBA hopefuls. But, he was consistent in his “You’re fired” mantra when someone did not supposedly conform, as was witnessed in his chopping and changing staff almost weekly in those one hundred days. 

In politics around the globe there will always be groups or organisations, be they profitable or non- profitable, contesting for a slice of a sitting government’s influence to further their own interests. In American politics this type of external influence in government policy is no exception.  Depending on the extent to which this interest is sought, it can hugely affect the strategic goals of that Administration. The bigger the influence, the more a sitting Government may surrender their mandate in exchange for political favours or self-interests. This phenomenon has come to be known as a “Shadow State” or “Deep State”.  There are various examples around the world where this “takeover” of a sitting government is evident.  A prime example of this would be none other than in my own country, the South African Government.

This “Deep State” is what Trump was referring to when he committed to “draining the swamp” in Washington.  On taking up the Presidency, only then did he realise the extent to which this Deep State had influenced the US Administration.  Needless to say, this external influence on the US Government dates back to the George Bush Snr and Bill Clinton Administrations. These influences were especially prominent in the many State Security agencies, like the FBI, CIA, and some fifteen other agencies. Yes, there are 17 official State Intelligence agencies in the United States. Therefore, this changed the simple task of “draining the swamp” into a mammoth Macro Project of desalinating the Atlantic, instead. When Trump showed signs that he wanted to deliver on some of his campaign trail commitments, e.g. improve relations with Russia, he was accused of colluding with the Russians to influence the elections in his favour.  When he tried to de-escalate the US presence in Syria, more allegations of bribery and corruption were leveled against him. He subsequently had no choice but to play ball with his adversaries in his Administration, or risk the possibility of impeachment through nefarious motives and unsubstantiated allegations.

Since Hilary Clinton was the preferred candidate to push the agenda of the Deep State, yet lost the election, it put much more pressure on The Donald to conform to their needs or face the consequences.  Hence, his unpopularity from the day he beat Hilary at the polls. His battle with this party of rogues is far from over, and they will not rest until he is totally in their court, or he is impeached. Their goal was always to have a pliable individual in the White House to further their agenda.