Caitlin Maloney
10/17/2017
A World
Going MAD
In current
politics, mutually assured destruction is a hot topic, as North Korea continues
to create threats against the United States, Japan, South Korea, and other
states. Living in the United States, it is common to hear people voicing
concerns about the nuclear warfare, especially after the recent election and
inauguration. These worries have been seen around the world as people are
fearing the worst from the ongoing verbal conflict between President Trump and
Kim Jong-un. While no violent measures have been taken yet people can only
imagine what could happen should the countries go to war. This is where
mutually assured destruction comes into play, as both countries are aware that
using nuclear weapons would likely result in the destruction of both countries
as well as serious repercussions to the world as a whole, even potentially
eradicating humanity.
January 2016 marked a new era of potential nuclear warfare, as North
Korea's capital Pyongyang hosted a nuclear test that drew against for many
parts of the world. As stated in an article by the Asian Review posted
September 24, 2017, shortly after this testing North Korea's Ambassador to the
United Kingdom, Ja Song-nam, met with an informal United States contact in
mid-January to discuss a potential mutually assured destruction relationship.
This meeting was not disclosed to the public until recently when a former
senior U.S. official released the information, stating that the United States
participants told the ambassador, that a MAD strategy between the United States
and North Korean would not work as there is a "gap in nuclear forces
between the United States and North Korea" that was not present in the
relations between the former Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold
War.
This lack of agreement was also stemmed from the United States's strong
stance that North Korea should be denuclearized in order to establish peace and
stability in Asia. While these statements were made under President Obama's
administration they still hold true under President Trump's administration,
perhaps even more so. Referring back to the recent bluster between President
Trump and Kim Jong-un, Trump has made it clear that North Korea should be
denuclearized, especially after ongoing nuclear testing in Pyongyang. At a
joint appearance with the Kuwaiti emir, Trump stated, "I would prefer not
going to the route of the military but it is certainly something that could
happen."
While the United States has previously told North Korea it would not
oblige in a mutually assured destruction relationship, it appears to be one of
the last options between the two states. Along with proposing broad new
sanctions and freezing the assets of Kim Jong Un, a MAD relationship would help
deter the use of nuclear weaponry, thus creating a sense of peace between the
countries and decreasing the levels of fear.
You did a really good job with this article Caitlin. For mine I did it about North Korea and unites State’s relationship and possibly having MAD as well. Like you said, the United States dejected North Korea’s MAD offer saying they are at different levels with the neclear weapons. You said that if North Korea and the United States had a MAD relationship it would help to deter the use of nuclear weapon and therefore create a sense of peace between the two countries and help decrease the level of fear as your last sentence. I disagree with this mostly because how do we know if we can actually trust North Korea with their word and know for sure that they will keep the promise. Before in the past North Korea promised to not build any neclear weapons and they clearly didn’t keep that promise and changed their mind. I think the best bet would be to deneclearize North Korea if possible and well MAD might help in the short run I dont think we could trust it or that it would last.
ReplyDeleteElif, thank you for comment. While I agree that we may not be able to fully trust North Korea, entering in some sort of an agreement may be in our best interest, rather than being in full out (nuclear) war. I do agree with you that denuclearizing North Korea would be the best possible choice, however I'm not sure how realistic this is.
DeleteI agree with your comment that both Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump know that nuclear war between both of their countries would lead to the ultimate destruction of each country, showing where MAD comes into play. I feel that the United States wanting North Korea to be denuclearized is only making North Korea more irritated about the situation. The constant words exchanged between Kim Jung Un and Donald Trump are only making the tension between the United States and North Korea worse, which could eventually lead to MAD between these two countries. I personally do not feel that Mad will happen between these two countries, but both countries should attempt to try to lesson this ongoing tension.
ReplyDeleteKyle, I agree with you completely that these on going conversations are simply making tensions grow rather than come to an actual agreement. While a MAD agreement seems very far off it could possibly work, as you said both sides know that a nuclear war between the countries would lead to ultimate destruction.
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