Iran and North Korea - War, Politics, Media and Reality

Skipping Nine Chapters of

 a Ten Chapter Story

Why bother with the middle of the book

 when your hair's already on fire?

First of all, if the domestic corporate media has convinced you that the h-bombs are practically "already flying" with respect to Iran and North Korea, relax. MeanMesa can promise you that there is "more to the story" -- much more.

To begin, let's take a moment to "set aside" the "news" -- you know, the "news" that has been telling us about the inevitable horror of an equally inevitable nuclear war with North Korea. Once we're a little past that nightmare, we can strive to accomplish a similar "mood shift" about the Iran situation.

Is it an undesirable "outcome" for North Korea and Iran to develop their own thermonuclear arsenal? Of course it is. However, the question goes on a little further. Every question which will be decided by probabilities always "goes on a little further" than the mere title of the story.

For anyone wondering where in the world MeanMesa's startling thermonuclear conflict equanimity might have originated, be advised. These old bones went through decades of minute to minute, terrifying "Mutual Assured Destruction" [M.A.D.] during the Cold War. During these long nights and surreal days the rhetoric between the "players" was, suspiciously, consistently similar what we hear now.

Of course one conspicuous dissimilarity was that none the US Presidents serving through these years was casually manifesting the dangerous, daily impulsivity the current White House is showing us this time. However, we have seen even this before. Petty autocrats and dictators, particularly when they find their power slipping, have long understood the tactical advantage of at least appearing insane. Blood soaked soldiers in various "armies of usurpation" have repeatedly toiled to "image" themselves as fanatically "oblivious to their own deaths" by strapping on suicide vests and the like.

Terror only becomes effective strategically when the population of a potential adversary is terrified. If a remote dictator can't accomplish this on his own, there's always the US domestic media to help. American audiences seem to have a very unusual appetite to be terrified.

Since the corporate media relies on the ratings of "audience interest" being titillated by the presentation of such stories, matters which should reasonably be classed as "necessary for consideration," "meriting mitigation" or "requiring quick response" are transformed into "nightmare movies" with scripts providing gruesome details of every possible horrific outcome at every juncture-- usually, plus a few "extras."

Quite beyond the incoherent bumbling of the US "executive leadership" the shockingly cynical media treatment of the current interplay with both Iran and North Korea amounts to nothing more than a self-serving, industrial grade "nightmare movie making" machine. The set, script and cast are all artificial -- useless for any possible reason other than inciting terror.

The incentive for opportunistic politicians' appetite to terrorize the public is, at least, somewhat understandable. However, the incentive for the corporate media's similar appetite is a very strange one. Network ratings go up when audiences are frightened, and network executives -- including the shiny "news" presentation stars -- know this.

The World With Iranian and North Korean H-Bombs

There may not actually be that much difference.

First and foremost, it would be an excellent time to step off our chairs -- leave the noose where you tied it to the ceiling -- and make a sandwich. "Things" will, definitely, change if these two admittedly rambunctious countries test a credible ICBM with a nicely miniaturized H-bomb warhead. Both Iran and North Korea have "blood in their eyes" and a truly creepy obsession for "getting even" with the United States.

While plenty of debate has already passed with respect to both the causes and the "validity" of these decades old, bitter resentments, neither North Korea nor Iran has shown much noticeable restraint when it comes to delivering terrorism, weapons and other mischief to any empty loading dock to be found. In fact, should either or both become armed with these weapons, we can almost count on a serious dose of resentment driven nuclear proliferation.

Happily, even given all this "dark prophecy," there will be no new reason to assume that  thermonuclear war will be the inevitable next step. The United States is and old hand when it comes to living with M.A.D. at the hands of the old Soviets. We have experience.

Since we apparently intend to "dive" right into this, experience will probably important -- especially since we have only a frail skeleton of a politically castrated State Department and an frighteningly incompetent President.