The bigger picture: US, ROK forces show off air power [Image 3 of 4] by DVIDSHUB on 2012-03-07 09:57:55
The consensus finally seems to be that there are only three options with regard to dealing with North Korea. As explained in a number of analyses recently, all the options discussed are really only variants of (a) diplomacy and negotiations, (b) forcing the regime to change its behavior, or (c) forcing a change in the regime itself.
The first option is what has been tried for the last few decades. The second option is generally seen as a series of sanctions designed to bring the regime to its knees – to its sense, if one accepts what the current U.S. administration believes. The third option is pre-emptive military strikes designed to either cripple the country into submission or to decapitate its leadership.
The consensus finally seems to be that there are only three options with regard to dealing with North Korea. As explained in a number of analyses recently, all the options discussed are really only variants of (a) diplomacy and negotiations, (b) forcing the regime to change its behavior, or (c) forcing a change in the regime itself.
The first option is what has been tried for the last few decades. The second option is generally seen as a series of sanctions designed to bring the regime to its knees – to its sense, if one accepts what the current U.S. administration believes. The third option is pre-emptive military strikes designed to either cripple the country into submission or to decapitate its leadership.
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Robert E. McCoy is a retired U.S. Air Force Korean linguist and analyst/reporter who was stationed in Asia for more than fourteen years. He continues to follow developments in East Asia closely. Mr. McCoy’s book Tales You Wouldn’t Tell Your Mother is now out. He can be contacted via his website http://musingsbymccoy.com/ which also lists his previous essays and has personal vignettes on Asia (Tidbits) not published elsewhere.