Written by Prof Michel Chossudovsky; Originally appeared at Global Research
George W, Bush was known for his total ignorance of geography. “Dubya the Geographer: Someone Buy This Man an Atlas” appears in dubyaspeak.com, Dubya Speaks, We Record the Damage.
Fast forward to 2017: What about Donald Trump who has his thumb on the nuclear button. What is his knowledge of geography.
What is the “damage” of ignorance among Trump’s foreign policy makers? In the words of Donald Trump:
“best not make any more threats to the United States. … [Kim Jong-un] has been very threatening – beyond a normal statement – and as I said, they will be met with fire, fury and, frankly, power the likes of which the world has never seen before.” (emphasis added)
“Trump Speaks, We Record the Damage.” What is the “Damage” underlying Trump’s “fire, fury and power …” threats implying the preemptive use of nuclear weapons against North Korea?
And who will be around to “Record the Damage” in the wake of a world war?
Ask Trump, Where is North Korea?
Where is the target country?
A preventive first strike nuclear attack is now being contemplated against North Korea. And this is where Geography 101 comes in.
The distance between the centre of South Korea’s capital Seoul and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)marking the border with North Korea is 57 km or 35 miles, half the distance between Manhattan and New Jersey (71 miles via Interstate Highway 95S).
The distance between Seoul and Pyongyang is about 121 miles, less than the distance between the Trump Tower in Manhattan and The Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City (131 miles)
Trump World Tower Manhattan
Pyongyang; Compare the towers: Pyongyang vs. NYC
South Korea’s Gimpo international airport is barely 2 miles from the border with North Korea.
The distance between Seoul and the historical city of Kaesong in North Korea is 40 miles.
A nuclear attack against the DPRK would inevitably engulf both North and South Korea, ie. the entire Korean peninsula, depending on the size and explosive yield of the nuclear bombs.
The Geopolitical Context: China, Russia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan
Pyongyang is close to the Chinese border. The DPRK has a border with the Russian Federation. The City of Vladivostok is approximately 100km from the DPRK border.
The entire Northeast Asian region –which largely consists of five countries– would also be affected by the nuclear blast. In a bitter irony, two of these countries, namely Japan and South Korea are staunch allies and military partners of the US.
Source: screenshot of Google maps
Source: screenshot of Google maps
What would be the nature of the unspoken “damage” resulting from a US led nuclear attack against the DPRK?
According to “scientific opinion” on contract to the Pentagon, the mini-nukes (tactical nuclear weapons) (e.g. B61-11) with an explosive yield of up to 6 times a Hiroshima bomb are, “harmless to the surrounding civilian population because the explosion is underground”.
It’s a big lie which is now embedded in the military manuals. And those lies are part of the daily intelligence briefings which are fed to president Donald Trump who as Commander in Chief has the real powers of unleashing a nuclear war.
The Hiroshima bomb on August 6, 1945 was conducive to 100,000 killed or doomed in 9 seconds. Todays bombs (including the mini-nukes) are much more powerful.
Trump’s war against the DPRK is not only a war against the entire Korean nation. Inevitably the decision to use nuclear weapons against the DPRK would be a prelude to World War III.
