That we should strike before North Korea does

Wylted (PRO)

This debate title is poorly worded and hopefully the admin can fix it. If taken literally it both presupposes that North Korea will attack the United States. If read into deeply it presupposes that the attack is unavoidable. Despite the words of the resolution being unclear, the attitude of it is clear.

The interpretation that the author most likely intended is and I will make it region specific because the word "we" is too general; "The United States should strike North Korea before North Korea decides to attack the U.S."

Threats

North Korea has made it clear that they want a war with the United States. Just this March they threatened to launch a nuclear attack on the United States and reduce it to "flames and ashes". This type of threat is routine almost for North Korea(1) Nonstop propaganda is used to prepare the North Korean people for a land invasion. (2)

The North Korean government can be trusted that they have the ability to in fact launch a nuclear attack on the United States. According to some military intelligence officials; "“Truthfully, they have the capability right now to be able to deliver a
nuclear weapon, they are just not sure about re-entry, that’s why they
continue to test their systems out there,”(3)

The North Koreans are systematically increasing their nuclear capabilities and the longer we wait to strike them, the more they will become a serious threat to do major damage to the United States. (4)

North Korea has threatened the United States with a nuclear strike, and has the ability to do so. Launching a targeted strike on North Korea is self defense. We are under no requirement to respond only after America turned to "flame and ashes".

Preemptive Strike

By striking fast and striking early we can avoid massive damage to the United States, or possibly South Korea or Australia. We can send a message that we will not allow ourselves to be attacked or even threatened with attack. As stated earlier, the longer we wait to attack North Korea, the more likely we are to face a heavy nuclear arsenal. The North Korean military is gaining a more sophisticated nuclear arsenal as we sit here. Attacking now can prevent a nuclear war later.

There are other regional factors to consider for not only the security of the United States, but of the world. Should we allow North Korea to go down this path, it could realistically cause more countries to pursue nuclear capabilities in fear of North Korea. According to an article in The New York Times; "If North Korea is left to continue its threatening behavior, it will
jeopardize the fragile economies of the region and it will encourage
South Korea and Japan to develop their own nuclear weapons
— a policy already advocated by hawks in both countries. Most of all,
North Korean threats will encourage isolated states across the world to
follow suit. The Iranians are certainly watching. If North Korea can use
its small nuclear arsenal to blackmail the region with impunity, why
shouldn’t the mullahs in Tehran try to do the same?"(5) The longer we wait the more dangerous the world becomes.

It is easier to destroy the missile now, while it is on the launchpad and undefended. Once it is in the air, we are going to have a hard time stopping it, if it is even possible to stop it as critics of "Reagan's Star Wars" program are enthusiastic to point out. A couple of targeted strikes and we can rid the world of the North Korea nuclear threat, and avoid a ton of civilian casualties. Waiting could mean all out war with North Korea which includes a land invasion and a bunch of dead civilians, where as a targeted strike to eliminate North Korea's nuclear arsenal eliminates them as a threat without having to engage in nation building or any of the nasty things that come with an all out war.

After the attack, North Korea would likely engage in some sort of petty retribution like using the attack to show his people that the United States really does respect them as a threat or taking over some island for the short term as North Korea has done in the past. It is unlikely he would mount a serious counter attack as it would mean certain suicide.

I want to now take a moment to thank my opponent for challenging me to this debate. I apologize for the brevity of my arguments, but they would not necessarily be much more sophisticated by being longer and unfortunately I do have a hectic life at the moment.

(1) http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/06/asia/north-korea-preemptive-nuclear-strike-threat/index.html
(2) http://www.valuewalk.com/2016/03/north-korea-vs-u-s/
(3) http://decolonizeguam.blogspot.com/2016/12/north-korea-may-be-capable-of-doing.html
(4) http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-nuclear-letter-20160912-story.html
(5) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/13/opinion/bomb-north-korea-before-its-too-late.html

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2016-12-21 11:26:16

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