For eight years, we on the right urged President Barack Obama to lead as though he actually had the full force of the U.S. military behind him. To project the strength of the mighty nation he had been elected to represent. And time and again, he failed to do so. Having had enough, we elected a man who would not shy away from taking the majestic mantle of the U.S. – but would also not go recklessly blundering into wars that soak up trillions in American treasure and lay waste to thousands of American lives. That man was Donald Trump, and he proved over the past week that our choice was the right one.
The media certainly didn’t like Trump’s “fire and fury” comments last week. But you know something…someone else didn’t like them either. They didn’t like them in Beijing and they certainly did not like them in Pyongyang. And after temporarily meeting bluster with bluster, the North Koreans seem to have ultimately decided that discretion is the better part of lunacy. After threatening to strike Guam with a nuclear missile last week, the Kim Jong Un regime is tip-toeing back from the red line this week, perhaps not so sure anymore that the U.S. president is just kidding around.
According to North Korean state media reports on Tuesday, Kim Jong Un is withdrawing his plot to strike Guam while he observes U.S. actions.
“He said that if the Yankees persist in their extremely dangerous reckless actions on the Korean peninsula and in its vicinity, testing the self-restraint of the DPRK, the latter will make an important decision as it already declared,” said the KCNA report.
While President Trump deserves credit that he will not get for forcing Kim Jong Un into temporary submission, China has also played an important role in talking the North Korean dictator back from the brink of disaster. Beijing, too, understands that the U.S. is done playing around with Obama’s games of “strategic patience.” There is no more patience. The time for talk is over. As long as Kim is making threats and progressing towards an intercontinental nuclear missile, the U.S. has nothing to say to him. And if he keeps it up, it will be goodnight for this regime. China sees the writing on the wall, and they are FINALLY bringing serious pressure to bear on Pyongyang.
Bottom line is, no one wants this to escalate. Not the U.S., not Japan, not Seoul, not Beijing. The jury is still out on the madman from North Korea, but for now, he seems to be stepping back from the line. Perhaps he can be made to see reason, one way or the other. Perhaps he finally understands – he ain’t dealing with Obama anymore.
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