The last few days have felt to this baby boomer like the extremely tense days of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October, 1962, when the United States and world clung on a precipice that could bring the start of a nuclear war between the U.S. and Soviet Union. Yet, in this case, the situation of the two countries\u2019 heads of state involves no adults. To be sure, North Korea\u2019s Kim Jong-un is an irrational, cruel, and maniacal ruler of North Korea. However, the United States now has a president, Donald Trump, who is wholly unfit for the job. He’s a narcissistic man who shows little understanding of the rule of law, ignores and doesn\u2019t care to grasp the consequences of what he says and does beyond how it pertains to his own gain, and is highly irrational and, at times, cruel.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Aug. 8, President Trump, at an appearance in his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, said, \u201cNorth Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.\u201d Understandably, his statements caused shock waves globally.<\/p>\n
Donald Trump has control over the nuclear codes of the United States. Let that sink in for a moment. A man who exhibits little to no impulse control, bullies to try to get his way, and shows continually that he will ignore facts possesses this most awesome responsibility for the planet. It\u2019s likely, in my view, that behind the scenes Trump is already asking about why he shouldn\u2019t use nuclear weapons. If you have any doubts, watch the interview that Trump gave to Tim Russert in 1999<\/a> during which he embraced the possibility of launching preemptive strikes against North Korea, even with potential nuclear fallout over the Korean peninsula. Consider his disturbing responses during the 2016 campaign, when he said, for one, that nuclear proliferation “was going to happen anyway” and saw possible benefits if Japan, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea were to have nuclear weapons<\/a>.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be clear: A catastrophic war could happen between the U.S. and North Korea. No amount of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cooing that the American people \u201ccan sleep well,\u201d following President Trump\u2019s outburst \u2013 in effect, seeking to soothe the shocks and make the unreasonable seem reasonable \u2013 should allay one\u2019s fears. In the 48 hours since the president\u2019s bombastic, unprecedented presidential threat, the administration has not evinced a cohesive strategy. If your instincts are that this is not right and that strong reasons exist to feel afraid, they are well-founded, in fact wise. Let\u2019s look at why this is the stark reality and what actions we can take.<\/p>\n This President could either order or mismanage the United States into a war that would mean devastating consequences and cause possibly hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of deaths. Various scenarios make this threat real. We are in uncharted territory with an American president who acts and speaks often without consulting others in his Cabinet or Administration, or due consideration of consequences. He doesn\u2019t care to know and understand history. As former Defense Secretary William Perry decried in a statement<\/a>, President Trump appeared to threaten first use of nuclear weapons, a departure from the policy of deterrence that presidents of both parties have followed for many decades.<\/p>\n “Nuclear Insanity”<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s worth repeating and examining fully: The control over the U.S. use of nuclear weapons is in the hands of one person, the president. Congress has no say in the decision. Various arms and national security experts have warned for a long time that the situation of putting this control in the hands of one person is dangerous and foolhardy. Calling for an end to this \u201cnuclear insanity<\/a>,\u201d author Joseph Cirincione has written, \u201cIn America, the world\u2019s greatest democracy, there are no checks and balances on the president\u2019s ability to launch nuclear war.\u201d The president of the Ploughshares Fund<\/a>, a global security foundation, Cirincione has urged Congress to pass legislation that would enact specific safeguards and Congressional checks and balances on the president\u2019s authority over nuclear weapons. Trump being president makes it all the more imperative.<\/p>\n Think there ought to be a law? Tell Congress that it is time to end this nuclear insanity #RestrictFirstUse<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/veSUIRDkje<\/a><\/p>\n — Ploughshares Fund (@plough_shares) August 10, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n