If insider reports are correct, the Pentagon may soon be launching a preemptive strike against North Korea, finally answering the ongoing question of who will hit first.
According to sources both inside the administration and out, the DOD is planning likely to knock out a missile launch site ahead of intelligence that points to yet another ballistic missile test from Kim Jong Un.
The judgment is that diplomatic solutions have been exhausted and there are no signs of N. Korea pulling back from its testing.
If the Pentagon does strike, the obvious next question is whether and how Kim may retaliate.
Either way, it will mark a watershed moment in the Trump administration.
Here’s more from NY Post…
The US is preparing plans to deliver a “bloody nose” attack against North Korea to knock out its nuclear weapons program.
The White House has “dramatically” ramped up its military plans amid fears that diplomacy won’t thwart North Korean despot Kim Jong Un from making good on his threats, sources told the UK’s Telegraph.
One option is destroying a launch site before the rogue regime uses it for a new missile test, while another is targeting weapons stockpiles, according to the news outlet.
The Trump administration hopes that pre-emptive action would show the trigger-happy dictator that the United States is serious about stopping his bellicose pursuits and persuading him to negotiate.
The Telegraph cited three anonymous sources, one inside the administration and two former officials familiar with the White House thinking.
“The Pentagon is trying to find options that would allow them to punch the North Koreans in the nose, get their attention and show that we’re serious,” a former US security official briefed on policy told the Telegraph.
President Trump’s decision to launch 59 cruise missiles against a Syrian airfield in response to the country’s chemical weapons attack that killed more than 80 civilians is considered an indication of his resolve, the paper reported.
