Kim Jong-un is not holding back, saying a nuclear war is likely
I'm not afraid (I'm not afraid) To take a stand (to take a stand) - Eminem
While the current U.S. President Donald Trump was receiving numerous draft deferments beginning in the late 1960’s, our people were getting drafted and dying in war. Many Mexican American Chicanos / Latinos today have had uncles or dads that were drafted in the 1960s to fight in the Vietnam War and were dying at twice the rate of their white compatriots. The Chicano community campaigned then against the conflict and we are campaigning now against Trump’s carelessness on Twitter.
Loose lips sink ships.
I am concerned with the tone the current administration is bringing to global politics and I fear we are on the brink of nuclear war with North Korea. U.S. leadership plays a central role in upholding a rules based maritime order in the Asia Pacific and we believe Trump’s careless tweets are not only un-Presidential – but very disorderly. Trump has never put his life on the line, nor did it appear he had the desire to do so for this great Nation with his multiple deferments. Our troops have no choice as they see us on the brink of nuclear war in the Koreas but to not be afraid when the time comes to take all of their knowledge and training to the forefront when Kim Jong Un finally loses it.
When asked about Trump’s views on Vietnam, according to the New York Times:
Trump said he had strongly opposed United States involvement in Vietnam. “I thought it was ridiculous,” he said. “I thought it was another deal where politicians got us into a war where we shouldn’t have been in. And I felt that very strongly from Day 1.”
Just the same, many of us believe it is ridiculous for Trump to take to Twitter to have a war with words with an unstable North Korean leader.
According to VOX:
Michèle Flournoy, formerly the No. 3 official at the Pentagon in the Obama administration, said Trump’s harsh rhetoric toward Pyongyang — which has included deriding North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as “Little Rocket Man” — created the real risk of an accidental war between the two countries. Retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis spent 37 years in the military, including four years as the supreme allied commander of NATO. Hillary Clinton vetted him as a possible running mate. President-elect Donald Trump considered naming him secretary of state. He is a serious man, and about as far from an armchair pundit as it’s possible to be. And that’s precisely what makes his assessment of the escalating standoff with North Korea so jarring. Stavridis believes there’s at least a 10 percent chance of a nuclear war between the US and North Korea, and a 20 to 30 percent chance of a conventional, but still bloody, conflict.
I know that Senator John McCain risked his life for this great Nation and I respectfully ask his office to conduct an inquiry regarding the demographics of military members currently serving in South Korea. It is hard for me to believe Trump cares about military members considering how he disrespected POW’s who put their lives on the line. To this day Trump continues to make fun of McCain’s disability like a silver spoon-fed spoiled brat.
As a Texas-born Gulf War I woman veteran who served my Nation with honorable discharge (now living in Arizona), I am also asking Congressman Joaquin Castro to request an inquiry regarding the military members who are part of racial and ethnic minority groups serving South Korea and Japan. If Trump continues to allow his ego run amok on Twitter with an unstable leader in North Korea, we would like to know more about what Trump is risking regarding the lives and the demographics serving in and near South Korea. Personally I think Twitter should shut down Trump’s account. Will Twitter be viewed as being an enabler to Nuclear War Trump is bringing us to?
I believe it is feasible for North Korea to fire a nuclear weapon into South Korea considering they have little to lose. Approximately 40% of the North Korean population is already starving and they received more sanctions. It doesn’t help when Trump continues egging North Korea to the point of pushing them over the edge when their leadership will lose it eventually taking down as many as they can in death. The clock is ticking and China is kicking out North Korean businesses by January which means more North Korean civillians will suffer more poverty since there will be less work.
I care about military members, families and civilians ... and it is hella scary for me to fathom the catastrophe a nuclear weapon can bring to the Koreas and surrounding nations like Japan and China. The ocean life. I have nightmares of a nuclear war crisis and images cannot seem to stop. A factor for protecting oneself from radiation and fallout is distance, but how in the hell do you create distance on a peninsula? It’s clear Trump’s ego is more important to him because his loose words have been divisive within our own Nation. With Trump’s continued carelessness, I fear North Korea will fire the first missile into South Korea and a snowball effect from a catastrophic event of this magnitude could force the United States to implement another draft and this is unacceptable!
I hope Senator McCain and Rep. Joaquin Castro will initiate an inquiry because a significant portion (at approximately 40%) of our US Armed Forces now comprise of racial or ethnic minorities. Hispanic share of active-duty ranks rises this year according to the PEW. Racial and ethnic minority groups made up 40% of Defense Department active-duty military in 2015, up from 25% in 1990, according to the PEW Research Center and 44% of all Americans ages 18 to 44 were racial or ethnic minorities in 2015.
According to the PEW:
In the same year, blacks made up 17% of the DOD active-duty military – somewhat higher than their share of the U.S. population ages 18 to 44 (13%). Blacks have consistently been represented in greater shares among enlisted personnel (19% in 2015) than among the commissioned officers (9%). The share of the active-duty force that is Hispanic has risen rapidly in recent decades. In 2015, 12% of all active-duty personnel were Hispanic, three times the share in 1980.
A significant chunk of racial ethnic minorities are serving in the ARMY and the NAVY. More importantly the ARMY and NAVY presence in South Korea is significant in overseas missions. The percentage of active-duty service by branch of military are as follows:
Army 36%
Navy 24%
Air Force 23%
Marine Corps 14%
Coast Guard 3%
According to the Guardian, there are approximately 35,000 troops in South Korea and is the third largest host of US military forces. Casualties from nuclear fallout near Japan also creates angst since there are more US military personnel serving in Japan than in any other foreign country. According to Department of Defense data, 39,345 troops are stationed there across 112 bases.
A scenario: If artillery rounds began to arc over the 38th parallel, ending the tense 64-year-old ceasefire on the peninsula, the Military Times has constructed a detailed picture of what war on the Korean Peninsula might look like, based on numerous interviews with current and former military officials, international experts and intelligence assessments of the North Korean military’s capabilities. However, the Military Times did not construct a detailed picture of what war might look like if North Korea fired a nuclear missile into South Korea.
If nuclear war begins under the Trump administration, the casualties and the blood will be on Trump’s hands and those of his supporters. I do not care for Trump’s carelessness considering he would not even put his own life on the line for this great Nation. If Trump brings us into nuclear war sending us into deteriorating relationships with China, I see no alternative but to see the current administration implement a draft. The Department of Defense is already having a difficult time being fully staffed as it is and if a draft is implemented – Republicans will face a fury and backlash like never before.