Incredibly sad this guy was detained, likely tortured, deprived of food/medical care, and kept in inhumane prison conditions, all over something the rest of the civilized world regards as petty larceny. This guy may have been an idiot to go to North Korea and tried stealing something (at least that is what the NK claimed he did), but he should never have been treated this way.
I don't know how I feel about the US and possibly NATO going to war with NK at the moment. I do know that we are on the 10th or 11th hour in terms of NK acquiring the capabilities of miniaturizing nuclear warheads and achieving more reliable missile launches. And once that happens the chance to eliminate NK without massive military and civilian casualties goes out the window. Since NK is probably the only nation in the world that would ever use a Nuclear Weapon in war, should we sit back and risk waiting for that moment? I don't know the answer to that. Especially since a limited strike wouldn't solve the problem, NK would just retaliate with an artillery barrage at Seoul and declare open season. Then we would be forced to respond to a war.
From what I have researched over the years, the likelihood of China declaring war on the US is very remote. People tend to forget that as of this month we currently owe China $1.092 Trillion. China may feel backed into a corner and would definitely protest, but I can't see any nation risking out on the possibility of having that much in debt payments frozen, or worse SCOTUS rules that debt to nations at war with the US is permanently nullified. Yes, the US would take a huge hit in our credit rating, but we would have to be morons to be sending debt payments to a nation we are at war with. Although I suppose China could attempt to sell off and dump US debt over time if they suspect hostilities were to occur in the future.
The idea of war is not to die for your country, it's to make the enemy die for his.
Former Member of the VOC
IRON STATS Wars Fought: 13 POWs Taken: 2 Nations ZIed: 2 Aid Given: $341 Million
Recruits: 7 Alliances Fought: LSF, Sparta, VE, Umbrella, DBDC, STA
Alliance Seniority: 2,595 Days Soldier Casualties: 867,426 Att + 2,123,326 Def = 2,990,752