Progressive: Damian Walsh ’18

If you’ve spent any time listening to the corporate media lately, you know there’s tension between the United States and North Korea.

They would have you believe “All options are on the table,” as President Donald Trump says.

To believe that officials at the highest levels of government are weighing the possibility of nuclear war is to fall victim to the alarmist corporate media.

Is there danger?

No doubt.

However, contrary to what the corporate Democrats and Republicans may portray, North Korea is a multi-faceted issue. If there is war, it is a war no one will win.

The Korean peninsula is geographically surrounded by three other major powers: China, Russia, and Japan.

Any nuclear detonation on the peninsula would affect the other major powers, not to mention the millions of lives that would be lost if Seoul, South Korea were targeted.

Millions of lives would be lost, and the almost unpredictable effects of the radiation released would haunt the region for decades. As human beings, it would be shortsighted to say diplomacy is off the table.

We’ve waged this war before, to the tune of thousands of lives and billions of dollars lost.

The American people do not need, nor want to, suffer through another potentially endless war.

Libertarian: Michael Vanelli ’19

With taunting as the main attraction in the USA-North Korea conflict, both countries are playing back Cold War footage in the modern world; diplomacy, sanctions, embargoes, and no actual fighting.

This time, we’ve had a chance to learn from the past. So how do we use that knowledge to stop the situation?

The answer is not only a libertarian approach, but one similar to what was used to win the Cold War. Libertarian leaning Sen. Rand Paul explains that nobody wins in a military confrontation.

“[We] have the most dominant military in the world and…without question…we would come out…successful in a military campaign…but millions of people would die,” Paul said.

Paul contends that North Korea should understand, saying that “launching a nuclear weapon at us would be…the end of North Korea.”

Making North Korea notice our power is not a new idea, the taunting game Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un are playing is just the same as the game between Reagan and Kruschev of Russia in the 1980s.

Libertarians, like Republicans, take the aggressive approach in diplomacy but also have a strong distaste for overspending.

Libertarians also agree with Liberals that one conflict is not an excuse to overspend in the military. Paul pointed out that the US has the most dominant military in the world, and he’s right. America accounts for 39 percent of the world’s total military spending as of 2012, a vast over-expense.

Reagan similarly expanded the military exponentially in the Cold War, which was truly only won because the USSR bankrupted itself first.

America gains nothing by putting itself on a path to bankruptcy, and should learn from past mistakes to stay strong without unnecessary spending; whether on war itself or just its weapons

Republican: Alex Tullman ’18

The tension in North Korea has stretched back for many years, but the situation escalatedwhen communication with Pyongyang was all but terminated in 2009.

Up until 2009, administrations conversed with Pyongyang under the guidelines of a plan known as strategic patience. When dealing with North Korea, the term consisted of six-party meetings and discussions about the North Korea’s nuclear arsenal and research.

Through these negotiations, the past three administrations attempted to bargain with the leaders in Pyongyang. Despite these outrageous offers, North Korea repeatedly refused to halt their research and development.

In light of the new revelations regarding mini nuclear weapons and ICBMs, it is more important than ever that the president of the United States recognize the indifference the elitist savages in Pyongyang have for their fellow citizens and people around the world.

Donald Trump has taken that first step by making it clear that The United States will no longer negotiate with the corrupt, irrational, and dangerous leaders of North Korea.

While many have criticized Trump’s rhetoric, North Korea has since retracted their immediate threat towards Guam.

Obama weakened the US’s international image when he didn’t act upon his “Red Line”warning targeted at Syria’s chemical weapons, but

Trump is fierce and will follow through with his “Fire and Fury” threat, and do whatever it takes to end the communist state.