The Atlantic

Is 'Self-Restraint' Really All That's Stopping a War With North Korea?

The potential for catastrophic consequences is much more important than forbearance in preventing war.
Source: KCNA / Reuters

North Korea’s announcement Tuesday that it had test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a weapon that could potentially be fitted with a nuclear device, drew widespread condemnation around the world and prompted General Vincent Brooks, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, to say: “Self restraint, which is a choice, is all that separates armistice and war.”  

Notwithstanding the Trump administration’s pledge that it will not allow North Korea to obtain nuclear weapons that can reach parts of the United States as well as its assertion that all options remain on the table when dealing with the regime in Pyongyang, the options to deal

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