North Korea: Donald Trump pre-emptive attack would be ‘a big mistake’
A FORMER Pentagon chief has warned what will happen if Donald Trump makes the “mistake” of ordering a pre-emptive strike on North Korea.
LAUNCHING pre-emptive action against North Korea would be a “big mistake” that has the potential to spark World War III, a former Pentagon chief has warned.
Robert Gates, a former US defence secretary under both George Bush and Barack Obama’s administrations, warned taking such action against the Kim regime would have devastating consequences.
Dr Gates also said Kim Jong-un had been allowed to build up his nuclear weapons and would not give them up, The Australian reported.
Speaking to an International Bar Association conference in Sydney by video link, Dr Gates said US President Donald Trump should resort to diplomacy over threats.
He said Mr Trump should use China as a negotiator to get Kim to stop his ballistic missile launches and allow inspections of his nuclear program.
He also warned Twitter was dangerous and something as minor as a tweet could escalate tensions ever higher.
“At what point do the tweets become provocative and create a situation in which any incident could lead to a much broader conflict?” he asked.
“At a number of different points I have to confess in reading the President’s tweets that I wish Twitter had never been invented.”
Dr Gates’ dire warning has been echoed by Mr Trump’s Republican rival Senator Bob Corker who said the President was leading the country into a major global conflict.
Mr Corker, who has been engaged in a very public spat with Mr Trump, said the President is acting “like he’s doing The Apprentice or something”.
In an interview with the New York Times on Sunday, the Tennessee Republican said Mr Trump’s approach concerned him and his reckless threats toward other countries could set the nation “on the path to World War III.”.
“He would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation,” Mr Corker said.
Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened tough action over North Korea warning in August the US was locked and loaded to take action against it.
During his maiden speech to the United Nations in September the President also threatened to destroy North Korea, which earned an angry response from Pyongyang.
The interview did not expand any further on the WWIII comment, which was made amid a public Twitter feud between the pair.
In a stinging rebuke against a sitting president, Mr Corker, who chairs the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, slammed the president for running his office like a “reality show”.
The spat between the former allies could also undermine Mr Trump’s legislative agenda, with Mr Corker’s vote vital to the fate of the Iran nuclear deal and passing tax reform.
The feud was sparked after Mr Trump tweeted that his rival decided against running for re-election because he lacked the “guts.”
Senator Bob Corker "begged" me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee. I said "NO" and he dropped out (said he could not win without...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017
..my endorsement). He also wanted to be Secretary of State, I said "NO THANKS." He is also largely responsible for the horrendous Iran Deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017
...Hence, I would fully expect Corker to be a negative voice and stand in the way of our great agenda. Didn't have the guts to run!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017
The senator replied that the White House had become an “adult daycare centre”.
It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.
— Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) October 8, 2017
Mr Corker is a respected moderate in the party who once supported Mr Trump, however has become one of the president’s most outspoken Republican critics.
He recently said that only the presence of the generals in Mr Trump’s inner circle had kept the White House from descending into “chaos.”
The feud flared up last week after Mr Trump seemed to pull the rug out from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as he attempted to open lines of dialogue with North Korea.
Mr Trump tweeted that Mr Tillerson was “wasting his time trying to negotiate.”
Mr Corker said last week Mr Tillerson was not getting the support he needed from above.
“I think Secretary Tillerson, Secretary (of Defense James) Mattis and Chief of Staff (John) Kelly are those people that help separate our country from chaos, and I support them very much,” he said.
COLD WAR FEAR
The World War III warnings come as a leading international think tank warned the threat of a nuclear catastrophe taking place is the highest it has been since the Cold War.
The 10th-anniversary conference of the Luxembourg Forum heard speakers express concerns over Mr Trump’s bellicose behaviour.
Worsening US-Russia relations as well as threats from terrorists and rogue state are also contributing to the growing threat, The Independent reported.
The Paris conference also heard speakers express fears over Mr Trump’s threat to scrap a landmark deal with Iran and his repeated threats to wipe out North Korea.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Mr Trump’s threats to North Korea were unhelpful.
“We can threaten military action,” he said.
“But unless there are elements of which I am unaware in either the weakness of the North Korean defences or the strength of US capabilities, it is hard to think of a pre-emptive strike which would not result in catastrophic consequences.”
- with AFP
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