Kim Jong Un This Red Line Is For Real

      By any benefit of the doubt, Kim Jon Un is a loose cannon; but instead of a child with toy soldiers and toy cannons, this child has nuclear cannons. Worse it may be that he has the missile capability to deliver them if not to the West Coast of the U.S., certainly to South Korea and Japan, countries which we are obligated to defend by treaty. China has born a goodly amount of criticism over its failure to reign in the antics of Kim Jon Un and his predecessor and maybe the unconfirmed reports that his uncle killed by him was not dispatched by firing squad but rather by being thrown into a cage of starving dogs and eaten alive was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
        The other day Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi  told reporters on the sidelines of China's annual largely rubber-stamp parliament, "The Korean peninsula is right on China's doorstep. We have a red line, that is, we will not allow war or instability on the Korean peninsula," Wang called upon all parties to "exercise restraint", adding that "genuine and lasting peace" on the peninsula was only possible with denuclearization. Looking back at history, after the successful landing at Inchon and the 8th Army's breakout from the Pusan perimeter, China expressed repeatedly through diplomatic channels although directly to the U.S. that the advance by U.N. forces past the 38th parallel could not be tolerated.
          MacArthur ignored the warning; Red China crossed the Yalu in force, inflicting a huge setback on the "home by Christmas" slogan of the U.S. forces, bogging us down in another two and half years of conflict, causing us at least an additional 30, 000 battle deaths. China has issued another warning today and one would hope that Kim Jong Un listens and moves to eliminate his nuclear program, before out President is motivated to issue his own red line to the detriment of our waning military credibility.
A River Runs Red  

In the Korean War, China’s warnings were precise, without doubt and very clear

Ignored by the American Caesar who from the mountain intoned “We have nothing to fear

As 8^th Army approached the Yalu and X Corps also with its Marines a mountain range apart
Were slogging along the Chosin Reservoir while the Chinese had crossed Yalu waiting for a counterattack to start

MacArthur split his forces and ignored, dismissed and  belittled the Chinese threat

Turning an advance into a retreat and for the Marines a frozen hell they would never forget

Though slaughtered by the thousands, the Chinese pushed  8^th Army and X Corps back

Never again should we a Chinese warning on force to be used ignore and detract

Order is to be desired in the Chinese sphere and the North is a loose cannon that needs to be spiked

Worse, the North after years of sanctions has nuclear weapons controlled by a mad man who might the South or Japan want to strike

We may be on the decline and our President’s red line warnings may no longer have worth

But treaty bound to defend, even Obama would be hard pressed not to wipe an attacking North from the face of the earth.

The news today that China cannot allow war or instability on its border is a good sign.

Kim Jong Un hopefully is listening when China speaks of its “red line”

Perhaps the reports of Jong Un feeding his uncle alive to dogs was finally over the top

Maybe a chance that forewarned, the nuke insanity in his land will come to a stop

China speaks of a peninsula that from stationed nukes must be freed

This is a warning that Kim Jong Un unless insane must really heed

In a perfect world, he would abdicate and the North and South would become one

U.S. troops could leave and the delayed economic miracle in the ex-North begun

A border of prosperous Koreans no longer avoiding starvation voting with their feet

But those with full wallets with appetite for Chinese goods and investments to greet

In a less perfect world, at least one less image on which to stare

No more zoned out “Ambassador” Rodman with his tattoos and dyed hair.

© March 12, 2014 Michael P. Ridley aka the Alaskanpoet