The art of the bluff
N here? Why does it appear that we’re on the brink of a war in Asia, one that could involve nuclear weapons? North Korea has had nuclear-weapons capacity recent advances been so dramatic States to wage a preventive war? - selves in has been exaggerated and mishandled by the Trump administration to a degree that is deeply worrying and dangerous.
has wanted to look tough on North Korea. In the early months of Trump’s presidency, before there could possibly have been a serious policy review, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that the era of strategic patience with North Korea was over. Last week, national said that North Korea’s potential to hit the US with nuclear weapons was an “intolerable” threat. Not North Korea’s use of weapons, mind you; just the potential.
Trump, of course, went furthest, stating publicly that if North Korea did not cease its threats, it would world has never seen.”
When pressed, Trump doubled down, saying, “If anything, maybe that statement wasn’t tough enough.” In other words, Trump has made clear that the United States would respond to North Korean nuclear threats with a massive military strike, possibly involving nuclear weapons.
Is this credible? Again, no. The United States is not going to launch a preventive nuclear war in Asia. Trump’s comments have undoubtedly rattled Washington’s closest allies in the region, Japan and South Korea. Empty threats and loose rhetoric only cheapen American prestige and power, boxing in the administration for the future.
So, why do it? Because it’s Trump’s basic mode of action. has made grandiose promises and ominous threats—and never delivered on either. When he was in business, Reuters found, he frequently threatened to sue news organizations for libel, but the last time he followed through was in 1984. Trump claims that he never settles cases out of court. In fact, he has settled at least 100 times, according to In his political life, he has followed the same strategy of bluster. In 2011, he claimed that he had investigators who “cannot believe what they’re at some point “be revealing some - vowed that he would label China a currency manipulator, move the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, make Mexico pay for a border wall, and initiate an investigation After being elected, he signaled to China that he might recognize Taiwan. Within weeks of taking he had tapes of his conversations Of course, he had none.
Even now, as he deals with a nuclear crisis, Trump has made claims that could be easily shown first presidential order was to “modernize” America’s nuclear arsenal. In fact, he simply followed a congressional mandate to authorize a review of the arsenal, which hasn’t been completed yet. don’t know this?
When the United States watched as Stalin’s Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons, it was careful in its rhetoric. When it saw a far more threatening leader, Mao Zedong, pursuing nuclear weapons, it was even more cautious. Mao insisted he had no fear of a nuclear war because China would still have more than enough survivors to defeat Western imperialists. And yet, successive US administrations kept their cool.
The world is already living