We really do not want a war with North Korea

By: Dylan Brennan, Columnist

A few days ago, Trump allowed the military to drop another bomb — this time on eastern Afghanistan April 13. I was pleasantly surprised to see Ms. Megan Graves, another Towerlight columnist, write an article on the Tomahawk missiles launched at Syria and talk about the price of these darn things. People so rarely talk about the nitty-gritty of how much a single bomb costs–but we may be paying a geopolitical cost, more than just cash.

We’ve been poking and prodding North Korea’s patience and mettle over the past month or two. Dropping the largest non-nuclear weapon we have ever used in combat is a show of force, even if Trump says that wasn’t the intent — not to mention his diversion of warship after warship into Asiatic waters.

Why Trump wants to shake up the time-bomb that is North Korea is anyone’s guess. I find it baffling that a president who goes off an isolationist “America First” campaign is now dipping every toe he has into the geopolitical waters. But given how politicians flip-flop, and considering how much of a political novice Trump was and is, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.

Regardless, as much as we can make fun of Kim Jong-Un, we can’t make too much fun about a war with North Korea. Even with a relative slingshot with how backward their technological levels are, they can still do sizable damage to South Korea or Japan, two of the largest economic and strategic powers for the United States and the world. If Kim has been hiding technology from us, he may send his missiles as far as Guam or Hawaii, whose lawmakers have demanded a new contingency plan for North Korea.

And even if we take out North Korea, we’d have to deal with neighboring China and the cost of their neighbor’s new management, be it a fair elected official or U.S. military occupation. China is most of the reason North Korea exists, from them meddling in the Korean War to them excusing any United Nations tribunal for their crimes against humanity. And we all know how important China is to the rest of the world.

If you thought a potential war with Syria was dangerous, you have no idea what a potential war with North Korea could mean.