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Tough job

I am referring to the job Donald Trump has as president. He will be criticized by some group or party no matter what he does. So far he has made some very prudent and profound decisions. Top of the list now are North Korea and Iran, with a crackdown on North Korea unavoidable now. The vitrolic esoteric individuals at the helm are the antithesis of what prime ministers or nation leaders should be. They are not pariahs in their society. In fact, they seem to be accepted. North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and the ilk are known to drink a fifth of cognac a day.

How do normal and venerable leaders of other nations deal with nuts like this? It looks like it is going to get worse, because the leaders of these rogue nations don’t follow a rule of law and out of chaos arises dictators and communists, etc. who may turn countries into deeper problems. Currently there are many in North Korea who boil grass for food. It is a real conundrum now, but imagine if new sanctions are imposed on the North, how the populace will be suffering so much more. China could make a difference if they stepped in and made decisions pleasing to the International Community.

North Korea is sending military supplies, advice and workers into the Congo, Egypt, Uganda, Angola, Qatar, Eritrea, Mozambigue, Sudan, Syria, Nigeria, Nambia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, plus other Central and East African nations where they can make money. These are not what you or I would call peaceful ventures. We have been dealing diplomatically with the problem, but just recently we did a flyover with Bl Bombers after their ICBM test.

With the recent intercontinental ballistic missile test and a nuclear weapons program near completion within one year, we have some decisions to make. This puts cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc.. in harms way. It is unthinkable what their goals are. None of this is a surprise. Our previous president watched this happen as he kicked the can down the road his whole term. President Trump now has the task of making some tough decisions.

The student Otto Warmbier’s death at the hands of the North Koreans should be a catalyst for a genuine crackdown on this repugnant regime, for national security and humanitarian reasons.

We may have to start to inflict some economic pain on Pyongyang and put pressure on China to make good on its own pledges. Our sanctions will involve companies and banks who do business with North Korea and China.

We must be dead serious in our actions and also step up our antiballistic defense program. Also, we cannot sit by and watch South Korea and other allies in the region take a hit and then we act. This is serious business when you consider it is just one of the hot spots confronting our President and us.

Alan Cohick

Cogan Station

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