The most unnerving part of Saturday’s bomb scare in Hawaii is that it could have triggered a military reaction from either the United States or North Korea.
As it was, military experts knew within minutes no ballistic missile was headed Hawaii’s way and let President Donald Trump know forthwith.
But it doesn’t take a stretch of the imagination to see either Mr. Trump or Kim Jong-un jumping to conclusions and responding in an aggressive manner.
Tensions between the two nations are higher than at any time in recent memory.
Last summer, Mr. Trump said the U.S. military is “locked and loaded” to wage nuclear war against North Korea should it “act unwisely.” A few weeks later, Mr. Trump said the United States would “totally destroy North Korea” if threatened. For good measure, Mr. Trump taunted Kim with the nickname “Rocket Man.”
In response, Kim said he would return the favor, and called Mr. Trump a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard.”
Such one-upmanship makes diplomacy a challenge.
Military historians have examples aplenty of how misinterpretations and mistakes such as Saturday’s have brought the world close to nuclear disaster.
As it was, Hawaiians were at their wit’s end for 38 tortuous minutes thinking a nuclear missile was headed their way. Fortunately, it was nothing more than someone pushing a wrong button. But couple that with suspicious minds, outsized egos, and the pressure of situations where decisions must be made in minutes — and it’s clear there’s no fail-safe guard against errors in judgment.
One spontaneous tweet from Mr. Trump could be interpreted by the Russians or North Koreans as a threat.
Indeed, Mr. Trump did proceed to tweet Saturday morning — about Hillary’s “missing” emails.
ALL THIS also points to the need for the United States and North Korea to engage in direct negotiations and to agree upon some facts, including, that to get to the table the United States must drop its demand that North Korea scrap its nuclear arsenal program.
That deadline is long gone and waving the stipulation in Kim’s face only prompts him to stage more nuclear tests and further develop the program’s capabilities.
Showing the dangers — to both parties — is the only way to a safe future.
