I believe the stuff so far has been legitimate, from what I’ve seen. I was really worried the sinking of the South Korean warship a while back was going to be the start of something. I worry like you that there’s someone behind the scenes pulling the strings to move all parties involved closer to war. Especially the sudden revelation of the uranium plant to a known expert feels like it could be engineered by a small group with the intent of raising the alarm.
Does that make it propaganda? I’m not sure. To me it seems there has be an element of justifying something based loosely on the facts but with unfounded conclusions for it be propaganda and no one is justifying anything to US public as of yet. So far the whole situation seems to have been handled with some restraint outside of the North and South Korea.
No other country/group in the world worries me as much as North Korea. They have military power, history, instability, madness in charge, and the backing of China. It’s like the US and China each put one of their little brothers into a small room and said “you guys don’t fight, but if you just happen to, we’ve got your back”...
If a group in China wants to call the US out, this is the easiest way to do it.
If someone in North Korea wants to prove some sort of dominance, take offense to a slight, or is just convinced of their own infallibility, South Korea is the easiest target and it seems to cascade from there.
So while it doesn’t seem the US is itching for an excuse to fight, one of the other parties involved might be and unfortunately it seems the US doesn’t have the desire or ability stay out of it.
The whole thing worries me more than the Middle East ever has. I really hope nothing more comes of it.
@mammal – I agree that the US has been trigger happy lately, especially with the attacks and wars resulting from 9/11, and share your feeling that war is not a good solution. But, to say a military thrashing is long overdue seems to show a far more callous attitude than the simple word change you’re accusing others of here. A military thrashing of the US would involve tens of thousands of deaths for soldiers on both sides. It would be a world changing event like most people have not seen in their lifetime. To say it’s deserved or overdue in the same post you accuse others missing the gravity of the situation seems either vengeful or myopic.