Donald Trump had stated that in case China did not help, the US would go it alone and attack North Korea. Secretary of State Tillerson had said that the military option was on the table. This appears just bravado as the US cannot replicate the attack on Syria with a similar attack on North Korea. Syria is a poor and defenseless country with no means of retaliation, but this not the case with North Korea. The country has a primitive nuclear device and has tested the Nuclear Weapons four times. They can retaliate with an attack on South Korea. If this happens, the US would have needlessly engulfed the Korean Peninsula to destruction.
Presently the North Koreans do not have the means to hit Japan or the US, but Japan will be on the Korean radar in a few months. The Japanese and South Koreans may well beware that wild talk by the US for a military option against the North will not leave then unscathed.
North Korea supports Syria
The North Korean government has come out in vociferous support of Syria. The government has called the attack on Syria an "intolerable attack of aggression." It has stated that it proves their decision to go in for nuclear weapons " a million times over" as justified. China is silent on the issue, but in the event of a US attack on Korea, it would be naive for Donald to think that the Chinese will be on his side.
President Xi has committed to nothing, notwithstanding the hand shaking at the Trump resort
Upping the ante in the East
The US is moving forces towards the Korean peninsula, and a aircraft carrier group is in the region. Donald may be tempted to think that he can do the same with North Korea as he did in Syria. This is a different ball game, and unlike Syria which was a defenseless nation, the Koreans are sure to retaliate.
Immediately they could hit South Korea. In that case, Donald's move may well turn out to be a Phyrric victory. It would also bring him in a confrontation in Syria with Russia and the North supported by China. Even a child who has not studied military strategy can say that the US fighting in 2 theaters so far away is not the best recipe for success.
Prisoner of his rhetoric
Donald is becoming a prisoner of his own rhetoric increasingly. He has not realized that war is serious business and the times of gunboat diplomacy is over. Donald is increasingly relying on his son in law Javed and the generals. His earlier chief strategist Bannon is given the boot. This also marks a great shift in his position and proves the man has no political philosophy. There are very few like him who talk of something else for months and in 24 hours dump all that and take a fresh path.
