North Korea Has No Downside Thanks to Trump's Over the Top Rhetoric

[TomCADem]

Trump has pretty much threatened a nuclear strike against North Korea if they merely make threats against the U.S. So, North Korea called him on it by threatening to strike Guam.

Trump, of course, does nothing, except make more outrageous threats showing that he is full of shit.

So, North Korea now has the green light to launch 4 missiles toward Guam. If the U.S. intercepts them, then everyone gets a free preview of such technology. Of course, if the intercept fails, then North Korea gets another win.

At that point, if Trump again does nothing but tweet crazy threats, then North Korea comes out of the whole mess with more credibility.

If Trump launches a limited counter attack, the North Koreans will happily engage in a tit for tat while laughing that the counter attack is a far cry from fire and fury the likes of which the world has never seen.

Lastly, if truly is an all out war leading to millions dead because Trump felt the need to back up his unforced bullshit with a preemptive strike, then we will have proven to be no better than the North Koreans.

[Not Ruth]

1. No downside?

Reread that last sentence.

[TomCADem]

4. From Kim's Point of View, Showing Weakness Means Being Deposed...

...which is no different from the last sentence from his perspective. So, he has no downside, since the last sentence is seen as incredibly unlikely.

[Not Ruth]

6. Millions dead is a downside

[TomCADem]

8. For Kim Jong Un, There Is Only 1 Life That Matters...

...there is no downside from North Korea's perspective. Also, he has the tremendous upside of getting to repeatedly cause Trump to back down given Trump's propensity to issue empty threats.

[Not Ruth]

9. You believe that getting Trump to back down is more important to Kim than millions of his citizens

Dying.

Kim sounds like a pretty bad leader.

[moriah]

10. This surprises you?

I mean, this is a guy who killed his uncle to retain power, may have assassinated his brother with nerve gas, and then invents a tale for his people that a lumberjack was hired by the CIA to attempt to assassinate HIM with "biochemical substances including radioactive substance and nano poisonous substance" a few months after.

Great guy.

[TomCADem]

11. See Above Comment. Kim Jong Un Has Killed His Own Family Members

Plus, if he believes (rightfully so) that Trump is a liar, then he probably sees very, very little risk. Conversely, if he backs down against a known bullshit artist such as Trump, he knows that North Korea will really not be taken seriously. All you need to do is use harsh language on twitter, and suddenly North Korea turns tail.

[uponit7771]

2. They've already called his bluff and threatened Guam

[TomCADem]

5. True. And Trump Then Double Down With Another Threat...

...so they are playing this game of just making Trump look like a bullshit artist, and North Korea gets respect for causing Trump to repeatedly wuss out.

[doc03]

3. I think the military will keep trump from doing anything really crazy,

I hope so anyway.

[TomCADem]

7. They Will, But This Just Causes To Trump to Issue More Empty Threats...

...which causes the U.S. tremendous damage, because the U.S. is seen as erratic. Worse, it becomes the green light for countries to develop nuclear weapons.