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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Socialist Project e-bulletin .... No. 1431 .... June 13, 2017 ____________________________________________________ The Need For A New U.S. Foreign Policy Toward North Korea<https://socialistproject.ca/bullet/1431.php> Marty Hart-Landsberg USA-North Korean relations remain very tense, although the threat of a new Korean War has thankfully receded. Still the U.S. government remains determined to tighten economic sanctions on North Korea and continues to plan for a military strike aimed at destroying the country's nuclear infrastructure. And the North for its part has made it clear that it would respond to any attack with its own strikes against U.S. bases in the region and even the U.S. itself. This is not good, but it is important to realize that what is happening is not new. The U.S. began conducting war games with South Korean forces in 1976 and it was not long before those included simulated nuclear attacks against the North, and that was before North Korea had nuclear weapons. In 1994, President Bill Clinton was close to launching a military attack on North Korea with the aim of destroying its nuclear facilities. In 2002, President Bush talked about seizing North Korean ships as part of a blockade of the country, which is an act of war. In 2013, the U.S. conducted war games which involved planning for preemptive attacks on North Korean military targets and “decapitation” of the North Korean leadership and even a first strike nuclear attack. I don't think we are on the verge of a new Korean war, but the cycle of belligerency and threat making on both sides is intensifying. And it is always possible that a miscalculation could in fact trigger a new war, with devastating consequences. The threat of war, perhaps a nuclear war, is nothing to play around with. But -- and this is important -- even if a new war is averted, the ongoing embargo against North Korea and continual threats of war are themselves costly: they promote/legitimatize greater military spending and militarization more generally, at the expense of needed social programs, in Japan, China, the U.S., and the two Koreas. They also create a situation that compromises democratic possibilities in both South and North Korea and worsen already difficult economic conditions in North Korea. Continue reading<https://socialistproject.ca/bullet/1431.php#continue> Share on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsocialistproject.ca%2Fbullet%2F1431.php> Follow us on Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/thesocialistproject/> and Twitter<http://twitter.com/socialism21> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(((( T h e B u l l e t ))))~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Bullet is produced by the Socialist Project. Readers are encouraged to distribute widely. Comments, criticisms and suggestions are welcome. Write to i...@socialistproject.ca If you wish to subscribe<https://socialistproject.ca/lists/?p=subscribe> The Bullet archive is available at socialistproject.ca/bullet<https://socialistproject.ca/bullet/> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
