National Interest’s executive editor Harry Kazianis joins Scott to discuss his article for The American Conservative, “A War of Choice With North Korea is an Immensely Dumb Idea.” Kazianis discusses the horrors that would follow from a war with North Korea, the difficulty of educating the broader public on the possible consequences, and why, even if Donald Trump is bluffing, pushing Kim Jung-Il into a corner is a terrible idea. Kazianis then discusses his previous work projecting what war with North Korea could look like and what he believes to be the status of North Korean chemical and biological weapons. Finally, he explains what he thinks the key is to diplomacy with North Korea and why he holds out some hope that Trump has some realist foreign policy views.

Harry Kazianis is director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest and executive editor The National Interest. He previously served as editor of The Diplomat, a fellow at CSIS, and on the 2016 Ted Cruz foreign policy team. Follow him on Twitter @GrecianFormula.

Discussed on the show:

• Mattis: This would be the most bitter fighting of our lifetimes
• “North Korea: The Costs of War, Calculated,” by John Feffer (Antiwar.com)
  
• “North Korea proved allowing the Iran deal to collapse could lead to proliferation” (The Hill)
• “12/13/17 Doug Bandow on North Korea’s nuclear development” (Scott Horton Show)
• “Tillerson’s offer of talks with North Korea left hanging” (Washington Post)
• “US ready for talks with North Korea ‘without preconditions’, Tillerson says” (The Guardian)
• “8 million dead – what nuclear war with North Korea could look like,” by Harry Kazianis (Fox News)
• “12/6/17 Robert Alvarez on the catastrophe of the Korean War (Scott Horton Show)
• “Kim Jong-nam killed by VX nerve agent, say Malaysian police” (The Guardian)
• In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam, by Robert McNamara

Today’s show is sponsored by: The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; LibertyStickers.com; TheBumperSticker.com; and ExpandDesigns.com/Scott.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

Podcast (thescotthortonshow): Play in new window | Download