By Alex Rosenfeld ’20

A war with North Korea is not happening, regardless of how big the president’s button is. While repeated missile tests, a false alarm in Hawaii and President Trump’s repeated Twitter bursts have led to heavy speculation and some fear, an actual war is near impossible.

Thanks to the actions and words of President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the current state of North Korean affairs is a bit like two goofy kids in a sandbox playing with their toys. But, if one looks at history, it’s obvious that nothing serious will come of either one of their threats.

The Korean conflict is a tricky, confusing subject. Even though the Korean war stopped in the 1950s, the result was a military stalemate, leaving the issues of the war not completely resolved. But no American, Chinese or Korean troops are duking it out on land or in the sea. The best analogy I can come up with is the Korean War is like Pompeii; the volcano blew up spectacularly but is now almost completely silent. This volcano has no intentions of erupting anytime soon.

Just take it from General David Petraeus. He served 37 years in the United States Army, served as Army Commander on assignments in the Middle East under numerous Republican and Democrat presidents, was director of the CIA under Obama and was on Donald Trump’s list of potential candidates for Secretary of State. He said in an ABC News interview that war with North Korea is “not likely.” Bam. There you have it.

Besides, there are already enough safeguards in place and people in the way just in case the president attempts to launch nuclear weapons. On Nov. 20, U.S. Air Force General John Hyten, who serves as the Commander of U.S. Strategic Command (the command that decides whether or not to launch missiles) stated that his and his men’s job would be to push back against nuclear options and provide alternate solutions to problems.

Despite all the ships sunk and planes blown up and soldiers murdered with axes, fighting with North Korea has never escalated to the levels it did between 1950 and 1953. And even if a certain Chief Executive decided to launch nukes anyway, the Department of Defense would stop him. Therefore, while the peninsula remains locked in a stalemate, war is not on the horizon.