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
-
In Myanmar, A Rare Glimmer of Hope for Indian Regional Policy
Commentary
In the barren, high altitude Himalayan region between China and India, a clash on June 15 left twenty Indian soldiers dead. Nationalists on both sides called for demonstration...
By Coby Goldberg
-
The U.S.-China confrontation is not another Cold War. It’s something new.
Commentary
With U.S.-China relations in free fall, the Trump administration’s chief arms control negotiator recently proclaimed that "we know how to win these races and we know how to sp...
By Richard Fontaine & Ely Ratner
-
Thrones Wreathed in Shadow: Tacitus and the Psychology of Authoritarianism
Commentary
On May 10, 1626, Sir John Eliot — an English parliamentarian and statesman — delivered a blistering speech to the House of Commons. One of the finest orators of his day, Eliot...
By Iskander Rehman
-
The U.S. greenlighting annexation is a greenlight for China’s abuses
Commentary
Across the sea from America, a leader who has been in power for more than a decade is laying the groundwork for a land grab. His military was always capable of imposing its wi...
By Coby Goldberg
