Without Mao's Intervention Here, North Korea May No Longer Exist

Without Mao's Intervention Here, North Korea May No Longer Exist

Our current nuclear standoff with Kim Jong-un is, in large measure, the bitter fruit of that failure.

Today, North Korea and the United States face the possibility of a major war, one that could end up going nuclear. May we not again be guilty of underestimating an apparently inferior enemy; the cost of being wrong this time could dwarf the cumulative price we’ve paid since 1950.

Daniel L. Davis is a widely published analyst on national security and foreign policy. He retired as a Lt. Col. after twenty-one years in the U.S. Army, including four combat deployments, and is a Foreign Policy Fellow for Defense Priorities and a member of the Center for Defense Information's Military Advisory Board. Follow him on Twitter @DanielLDavis1.​

This article is being republished due to reader interest.

Image: Reuters