In recent days the risk of war between the United States and North Korea has appeared to ebb and flow with each tweet and statement from Washington and Pyongyang.
Wherever this goes, make no mistake: President Donald Trump is manufacturing a crisis with North Korea.
North Korea is dangerous, and becoming more so. But rather than enacting a strategy that protects the United States and its allies’ interests, Trump is adding fuel to the fire of an already deadly serious situation. Trump has talked as though war is coming, threatening to respond to North Korean words with “fire and fury,” and claiming the United States is “locked and loaded.” The president’s national security advisor H.R. McMaster says that North Korea cannot be deterred. And according to Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., Trump said, “If thousands die, they’re going to die over there.”