The New Armistice of Terror

A new Cold War is upon us, unlearned were the lessons of time. Totalitarianism a malevolent pus, allowed to fester in silent wartime. A ceasefire that never ended awarded the enemy ample time, to fortify his position, and threaten millions of lives. While negotiations were suspended, protracted inaction an unjustifiable crime. Three generations of dictators, rose to power as a historical blight, as famine and executed agitators were a daily abominable sight. But China who once came to their rescue, never hesitating to kill American GIs, was expected to provide the avenue of negotiations only meant to buy time. MacArthur asked for extreme measures, but President Truman turned him down. The great cost in blood and treasure, did not justify another mushroom cloud. For decades an enemy entrenched, behind a heavily armed battle line, remained enraged and incensed, his thirst for vengeance unquenched ´til now. This seemingly intractable problem was to successive Presidents handed down. Incessant negotiations always so solemn, resulted in the same unforgivable letdown.Then came the first nuclear explosion, despite all warnings announced, crowning a heartless devotion to mass destruction unannounced. After science was utterly abused, creating a monstrosity that can never be used, Death entered the line of mass production, and democratic nations primed for consumption. Then came strategic patience, inaction ever spoken so loud. Even the imposition of sanctions never prevented tests underground. Now they are developing the reach to strike a Nation once so proud. There are no kind words or speech that will appease a totalitarian crowd. A dictator afraid of his own shadow conducts purges in his own family. How can he ever be trusted to know the basic value of human amity? Using antiaircraft guns to execute officers from his own army, no one is allowed to dispute his control over his private communist party. Killing his own half-brother with a banned chemical weapon, there is no safety in numbers for anyone who dares question his presence. Murdering his own uncle in fear that his dictatorial power might crumble, before plots orchestrated by his own relatives, all treacherously competitive despite the shared family heritage. Firing missiles over his neighbors, scaring potential allies into enemies. Cybercrime a national form of labor, totalitarianism the country´s only legacy. First he developed the nuclear bomb to be dropped on his neighbors. Then ICBMs were aimed at Guam, at a distant enemy unsheathing his sabre. If allowed to develop the reach to threaten the continental US, next he will look to breach American defenses with submarine launched attacks. An arsenal buildup will ensue, and proliferation is too profitable to pass, while the constant fear of a coup… means every decision is taken under unrelenting stress. Whether he chooses to force his hand, and forcibly reunite the two Koreas, might be a strategy planned for the day when nuclear supremacy is no longer a distant idea. What seems irrational today might seem plausible tomorrow, when nuclear weapons provide a way to render American resolve so hollow. One must never forget how Berlin was under constant threat, would America stand for Seoul when defending American cities is the primary goal? The greatest threat to world peace is the proliferation of nuclear arsenals. All meaningful debates will cease; all other concerns will seem marginal. Mutual Assured Destruction remains the illogical suicidal direction, eternally guiding nations towards mutual nuclear annihilation. Today a new Cold War is born, a son is revisited by his father´s error. So long nuclear disarmament is stillborn, welcome to the New Armistice of Terror!