The Humanist Cafe
 

President Trump of the US has made North Korea’s developing nuclear capability a cause celebre and has threatened nuclear war. North Korea is a dictatorship with a questionable human rights record. We in the West have been at loggerheads with North Korea ever since the end of the Korean War in 1952. So what has changed? Why have tensions escalated in recent years?

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40882877

http://www.newsweek.com/north-korea-threat-nuclear-war-us-closer-ever-retired-admiral-says-766948

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/26/the-guardian-view-on-north-korea-and-the-us-shouting-into-the-wind

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/21/asia/koreas-tensions/index.html

Analysis of the Standoff

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/14813-north-korea-and-the-united-states-will-the-real-aggressor-please-stand-down

North Korea exporting nuclear capability to Syria?

https://consortiumnews.com/2017/11/18/israels-ploy-selling-a-syrian-nuke-strike/

The US Arms Industry Lobby

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/43048-how-cheney-and-his-allies-created-the-north-korea-nuclear-missile-crisis

When CIA intelligence (1995) said that North Korea would not have ballistic missiles capable of threatening the United States for at least 15 years, the missile defence lobby got Congress to pass legislation creating a “national commission” to contradict the CIA assessment. 

https://web.archive.org/web/20090104044129/http://www.fas.org:80/irp/threat/bm-threat.htm

Corporate Think Tanks and the Doctrine of Aggressive Militarism

http://multinationalmonitor.org/mm2003/03jan-feb/jan-feb03corp2.html

Withdrawal of US from Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty

http://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/Article/718046/us-withdrawal-from-the-antiballistic-missile-treaty/

Failed Diplomacy

https://2001-2009.state.gov/t/ac/rls/or/2004/31009.htm (agreed framework – USA & North Korea)

https://web.stanford.edu/class/polisci211z/2.6/NPR2001leaked.pdf

https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2007_10/BookReview

http://www.38north.org/2010/11/jomyongrok_chinoy/

Recent Mixed Messages from Washington

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/26/the-guardian-view-on-north-korea-and-the-us-shouting-into-the-wind

How easily might nuclear war begin?

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/war-with-north-korea-how-might-it-break-out-and-what-would-happen-if-itdid/article37511316/

QUESTIONS:

So who to believe?

Who benefits from stoking the conflict?

Is there any credible benefit from “fire & fury”?

Is there a better alternative way of dealing with North Korea?

If we ignore it, will it go away?

Would a nuclear war and nuclear winter be a fitting end to the human species?

See you there!  Bring a buddy.

www.vsha.ca