I guess North Korea is Fixed – Right? Folks, Ignoring the Problem Won’t Make It Go Away

As a senior officer in the military and U.S. State Department who’s had a fairly intimate window into U.S. sponsored Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) non-proliferation programs, am I alone in wondering why the threat of North Korea has seemed to disappear in the haze of media coverage of President Trump’s impeachment proceedings and other non-security related narratives the Oval Office and media are fixated on?

Isn’t it dangerously naive to let President Trump off his Nobel Prize solicitation hook (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/barack-obama/japan-nominated-trump-nobel-peace-prize-after-white-house-asked-n972661) and ignore Korea’s weapons grade uranium enrichment program to continue unabated?  As far as I can determine from the media, little is going on to solve the threat North Korea presents to America, our allies, and the world.  Even South Korean media seems quiet on the threat.  North Korea touts yet another deadline at 2019 year’s end to resume economic negotiations with the U.S. or else “consequences”, the North says, will be faced  (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/barack-obama/japan-nominated-trump-nobel-peace-prize-after-white-house-asked-n972661).  Will anyone really be surprised when the next North Korea drama flares up?  I have written about this festering problem before and offered abstract approaches to dealing with it that might make headway.  This a complicated problem that even the North Korean leadership may not be able to control if circumstances are left to decay to their own devices.  Our security agencies need to keep their eye on the ball, but the Oval office must take action to lead solutions.   

Folks, ignoring the problem will not make it go away.  So while the President and his administration is more concerned about the Biden’s corrupt activities in Ukraine, and picking on a 16-year-old Swedish girl, Greta Thunberg, (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/2020-state-of-the-race/sl-AAHrgT5?ocid=spartanntp), the work of assuring international security, the Executive Branch’s number one job, to protect America from threats to our way of life, takes a back seat and North Korea is left to let the nuclear genie out of the bottle.

I guess there’s no time for that – maybe that would be American “policing,” and we can’t have that, right?  Hey, Senator Mike Lee, here’s an idea for you – why not use your 50+ person staff to keep pressure on the Administration to focus on what’s important?  Update us daily on all “real” pressing matters with a “Daily Update Brief.” and take action to move the ball down the field on the nation’s most pressing matters?  Ahhh, where’s my head, I forgot, you’re too busy working with former Senator Orrin Hatch to lead the Utah Republican effort to re-elect President Trump.

Here’s an idea – maybe Senator Mike Lee could get Rudy Giuliani to visit with the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize committee and ask them to take a closer look at Japan’s nomination of President Trump for the next winner, which was asked by The White House to be submitted, but indicate that America and President Trump have to actually fix North Korea and denuclearize them first?  If the boss senses his electability next year will be enhanced, and he feels the “Prize” has a snowball’s chance in hell of being awarded to him, maybe he will lead efforts to tackle the North Korea problem… after all, the leadership must come from the Oval Office, right!? 

Am I so naïve (sarcasm)?

COL Mike Seguin (USA – Ret.)

Utah Bull-Moose Party 2022