Divide Russia and China: The Strategic Aim of the US-Israel Coalition.

13/04/2017

China Sounds the Alarm: Trump Prepares for War against Korea

By Brian Becker

It is not possible to overstate the impact on U.S. and global politics of Trump’s unilateral, surprise cruise missile strikes on Syria at the very moment that he was having dinner with China’s President Xi Jinping.

China got Trump’s message. China must either break from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – North Korea – or minimally it must apply immense pressure on it to suspend its nuclear and ballistic missile tests or Trump is prepared carry out a another round of unilateral military action on China’s border.

With each passing day it becomes clear that the Trump Administration has borrowed a page from the Ronald Reagan playbook. Like Trump, Ronald Reagan was written off at first as nothing more than a right-wing, lunatic, grade B-actor/entertainer. But he became a vessel for the Pentagon and eventually was made into an establishment icon because U.S. imperialism recovered from its declining role under his strategy of hyper-militarism and escalating threats.

Trump’s military action against Syria muted his ruling class critics and he won the praise of the Democratic Party leadership and the mainstream media. Trump is on a roll and the next target is North Korea. The Democratic Party “resistance” to Trump has been replaced by obsequiousness. Congress barely whimpered that Trump didn’t even bother to ask for authorization for new war.

The Chinese leadership is obviously stunned. In fact, China is now convinced that a new US military strike in Asia may be imminent unless the DPRK backs down from further expected weapons tests perhaps as early as this coming Saturday – the birthday anniversary of Kim Il Sung, the founding leader of the DPRK.

It must be remembered that the DPRK has consistently offered to suspend nuclear weapons tests in return for the United States cancelling its massive, annual military exercises that simulate the destruction of the North. Both the Obama administration and the Trump administration immediately rejected this offer. The DPRK has also made it clear that what it actually seeks is a peace treaty with the United States to formally end the Korean War that began nearly 70 years ago.

“The US aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is headed toward the Korean Peninsula after abruptly turning back from sailing to Australia, and Trump sent a warning via his tweet. These are probably related to reports that satellite surveillance shows North Korea is likely to conduct new nuclear tests.

“Washington’s latest threat to Pyongyang is more credible given its just launched missile attack at an air base in Syria. The Korean Peninsula has never been so close to a military clash since the North conducted its first nuclear test in 2006. (our emphasis)

“If Pyongyang conducts its sixth nuclear test in the near future, the possibility of US military action against it will be higher than ever. Not only is Washington brimming with confidence and arrogance following the missile attacks on Syria, but Trump is also willing to be regarded as a man who honors his promises.

“Now the Trump team seems to have decided to solve the North Korean nuclear crisis. As the discussion runs deeper, a situation of no-solution will not be accepted…

“The US is making up its mind to stop the North from conducting further nuclear tests, it doesn’t plan to co-exist with a nuclear-armed Pyongyang.

“China supports solution of the North Korean nuclear issue under the framework of UNSC and Six-Party Talks. If the US takes unilateral action, it will win little international support. Pyongyang can continue its tough stance, however, for its own security, it should at least halt provocative nuclear and missile activities.

“Pyongyang should avoid making mistakes at this time.” (our emphasis)

“Military First”: Trump Employs the Ronald Reagan Playbook

Donald Trump is clearly adopting the strategy of Ronald Reagan in the 1980’s. Reagan’s surprise 1980 presidential victory led to a profound realignment of global politics. It was an earlier iteration of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” brand. Reagan and the Pentagon were arguing that America was in decline but that a vast show of military spending and military power could turn the tide.

Reagan employed vast increases in military spending coupled with reckless threats and preparation for wars abroad as a way of gaining leverage over major world powers. In the 1980’s, China joined Reagan in an anti-Soviet alliance and in return was rewarded with the U.S. government’ decision to allow American corporations to engage in foreign direct investment in China while maintaining severe sanctions and technology embargoes on the Soviet Union at a time when the USSR’s economic growth had already slowed.