February 09, 2018
Maximum Pressure: A Clarifying Signal in the Noise of North Korea Policy
At the height of the Roman Empire two thousand years ago, the Stoic philosopher Seneca counseled that any quest for a fulfilling life should begin with a clear objective: “Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbour he is making for, no wind is the right wind.”4
Seneca may as well have been advising policymakers on dealing with North Korea. The objectives of Washington’s North Korea policy run the gamut from the plausible to the unthinkable.
In the main, the Trump administration’s national security team supports the goal of deterring the outbreak of major war, a bedrock of bipartisan national security policy for 65 years.5 Both the Obama and Trump administrations have engaged in various shows of force and enhanced military exercises to underscore deterrence and an ironclad alliance commitment. As America’s top officer in Korea has explained, the purpose of joint U.S.-South Korean exercises is to serve the overriding goal of maintaining “a credible deterrent.”6
Read the full article in The Texas National Security Review.
More from CNAS
-
America Must Salvage Its Relationship With India
Commentary
The longer the current crisis lasts, the harder it will be to restore the relationship and the more likely it is that the two countries will lose an entire generation of progr...
By Richard Fontaine & Lisa Curtis
-
Podcast
Indo-Pacific Security / Technology & National Security
AI and Policy, Both Foreign and DomesticIn an episode recorded just before Christmas, Darren interviews Janet Egan, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of the Technology and National Security Program at CNAS, about AI...
By Janet Egan
-
25% Tariff Threat Torments Tehran: What Will Be Trump’s Next Step? Experts Weigh In
Video
In this episode of Newstrack, Maria Shakeel examines the escalating crisis in Iran as the nation faces its deadliest wave of unrest in decades. Citizens are protesting soaring...
By Lisa Curtis
-
Trump Renews Push to Annex Greenland, Tensions Rise
Video
European allies issued statements supporting Denmark and Greenland's sovereignty, warning forcible takeover could endanger NATO. Danish PM Mette Frederiksen reiterated Greenla...
By Lisa Curtis
