Peace as an option of diplomacy is too often forgotten at the world’s peril.
As Korean athletes from both sides of the Demilitarized Zone marched and competed together under a pan-Korean banner at the Olympic Games in South Korea, optimistic media coverage remained remarkably sparse. Between fawning over the DPRK’s cheerleaders and rightly decrying their captive status, little has been made of that often-repeated word, “reunification.” Why?
It should not be taken lightly that threats of U.S. intervention are backed by the blood of millions of American lives. Without a clear goal-post set for peaceful deconstruction of Kim Jong Un’s dictatorial disposition, how can we hope for it? Without a peaceful option, are America’s millennials committed to being chips in President Trump’s all-in, half-bluff strategy? Shouldn’t the focus instead be on bringing home the 80,000 American troops stationed in Japan and South Korea?
Despite the evident cracks in the Kim regime — desertion, pestilence, malnourishment — the White House has remained committed to the use of brinkmanship in bringing Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions to an end. In January, a false missile alert in Hawaii actualized the fear associated with Trump’s combative approach to North Korea for residents and visitors to the Aloha State.
It is apparent that Kim will have his weapons, even at the expense of his people. However, Trump has been clear that he will not tolerate a nuclear North Korea. Sadly, to separate Kim from his dangerous toys would be tantamount to war for him.
Alliances between America’s Cold War enemies make a pre-emptive U.S. strike a one-way ticket to either World War III or a nuclear holocaust. Open war with China, Russia, and the massive North Korean army would be no small problem. Such a conflict would dwarf the ferocity and body count of our past forays in Asia.
However, our situation is not hopeless. China’s treaties are with Kim, and as he continues to act out of line, his country’s trade abilities become increasingly limited. We might still be able to separate Kim and his hostages — the North Korean people — without subjecting our nation’s youth to potential death on Asian battlefields. To do this, it will require a new breath of stalwart American anti-interventionism and confident diplomacy.
North Korea is a racket, as far as the people are affected. From its nuclear tests and power grid, to its economic administration and failing infrastructure, it is not built to last. Kim’s recent subterranean nuclear tests have completely contaminated the ground beneath an entire region and caused rampant radiation sickness, according to a recent defector from the province of Punggye-ri. His focus on weaponry has left his people extremely vulnerable.
Comparing the darkened North to the vibrant and shining South emphasizes the scope of the atrocities being perpetrated against the millions of starved and surveilled people of the DPRK. Frequent blackouts and sanctions make life in North Korea hellish.
To turn a potentially peaceful interaction into something needlessly bloody — on the world stage, no less — would be a tragedy. The message of peaceful diplomacy needs to be spread far and wide in order to increase awareness about current U.S. involvement in foreign nations.
Youth activism organization Young Americans for Liberty is now launching a new activism project, Bring Them Home, in order to raise awareness on college campuses about unnecessary U.S. involvement overseas and to promote a sober foreign policy. Americans need to be made aware of what our government is doing in other nations and what the effects of that will be. It is only when we hold our elected officials responsible that we will see any kind of change with the stationing of our soldiers overseas, hopefully, a change to “Bring Them Home.”
It is time to use all of our diplomatic might to peacefully steer the world out of these shallow waters, lest our nation see a nuclear warning not sent in error.
Gavin Hanson studies communications and history at the University of Iowa. He is a media ambassador for Young Americans for Liberty.
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