Wednesday 30 August 2017

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.


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