I am reminded of Shakespeare’s words, “It is a tale… full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing,” what better way to describe the incessant but empty calls from our country that there would be “punishment” and repercussions for North Korea if they chose to test a three-stage missile as they did this weekend? While I am sure we will find some kind of “diplomatic” punishment, we have tried it all before and it never gets us very far. Sanctions simply add to the starvation of the people who have little say in such decisions and diplomatic talks buy time for that nation to develop its weapons further.

To say there are no good options is to ignore a bigger fact, there are nearly no options at all. We will not embark on a “preemptive” strike on North Korea; we were unwilling to do so under the Bush administration and it is unimaginable such an action would ever be taken by the docile democrats. In reality such a strike would do little to further any of our objectives anyway, it would simply leave the infrastructure decimated and the nation descended further into a hellish wasteland of propaganda control and human suffering. It would also put us on a path toward Global War.

Our best options for negotiation or diplomatic resolution rely on China. North Korea is a nation lost in paranoia and a fascist enterprise lost in Stalinist-like control. It is a nation run by a dictator with gargantuan ambition who reigns over a nation with infinitesimal resources. The people are uneducated in anything but government propaganda while the nation itself does not have the basics of food or energy to sustain the masses.

Throughout our troubles China has played both sides, acting horrified in media and statement while conceding nothing in action. China is the greatest ally of both NK and the international community. A partner we cannot trust or let go of. We can have no diplomatic success in NK without China and we will find no diplomatic success there because of them. In short order, we will neither gain nor lose but with every action, like this missile launch, simply find ourselves back where we began while NK makes incremental and not monumental achievement.

We must remember as liberals did not throughout the Bush administration that we are in fact a victim of circumstance. George Bush calling NK part of the “axis of evil” did not create this problem and Barack Obama declaring any kind of new outreach to the world will not quell nor exacerbate it either. NK is such an odd entity and China’s relationship with it so fundamental that we have little say in how the nation moves forward. China in essence is pulling the strings of its puppet. Like any good puppeteer it is hiding in the shadows trying to make the world believe the puppet is alive and acting of its own accord. The more we talk, the less they listen. The more we threaten without action, the less influence we have in world affairs.

This is an international problem that spans decades. Harry Truman committed us to a costly and horrific War while future administrations committed to nonintervention. The Clinton administration, the Bush administration and now the Obama administration have all been sucker punched by hostile action from NK after being lulled into a belief that diplomacy might just work. Once again in the wake of its latest actions we speak of “bilateral” talks with the promise of eventual direct talks after our meaningless pronouncements that NK would face retaliation, a bluff, was called.

There are very few moments in life when there are no solutions available but NK has proven itself one. Every action forward or backward leads to the same outcome. Those on the right who thought they could do better than the Clinton administration failed. Those on the left who thought they could do better than Bush have failed themselves and will fail again.

China is the only road that leads us to NK but while they talk of peace they are breeding dogs of War. China and Russia hold the leashes to Iran and NK and to our fate in the world. We are now a nation without the money or influence to counter them in Iran and we have no chance of finding a beneficial outcome in NK.

Destabilizing and promoting an internal coup seems the best option but it poses maximum risk to South Korea who will be the first attacked once the ruler senses the overthrow. Likewise the people of NK are so indoctrinated and without the skills to suddenly embrace self-governance it seems unlikely such a coup will produce a favorable result. Rather we would have to prepare for an extended ground War and embrace the notion of handing the fate of that nation to South Korea with assistance from Japan. A move that would enrage China and others in the region and that would exhaust the ailing economy of Japan and South Korea.

We are coming ever closer to a NK that can only be dissuaded through military intervention but will have the resources to scorch the Earth during its demise. Of course any attempt at overthrow, even by subterfuge, always runs the risk of exposure and retaliation not just by NK but by its partners, Russia and China and its ancillary allies, Iran, Venezuela and rogue nations in Africa and Latin America who are indebted to and kept economically viable by both Russia and China.

NK like Iran is in essence a smokescreen for a much larger and deeper problem; the expansion of China and Russia into the world marketplace. The expansion of their militaries threaten two of the West’s greatest allies, Israel and South Korea. If either of those nations falls it would end American and Europeans already tiny influence in those regions; ultimately that may be the goal. Africa, a continent of riches, is a playground for both our alliances while the destabilization of nearly all of Latin and South America will pose an economic and military drain on our nation.

There is more to NK than a missile launch but sadly the coming onslaught appears inevitable especially in a time when few seem willing to accept that we are in the opening stages of a World War. As we face Iran and NK our enemies are creating the machinery of our demise; we are already witnessing a global attack on our economy that will be followed by countless terrorist attacks by seemingly “rogue” elements followed by new threats to our ability to exert influence on the global stage.

Our economic downfall and the embrace of socialism and government entitlement has strained our ability to exert military influence. Additionally our dependence on China for goods has decimated our ability to sustain ourselves and opened a gateway for attack. While many rightly observe that China as owner of our debt and partner in trade is dependent on us, they ignore what China is really doing. China and Russia are creating an alternative economy, using America’s own money to strengthen our future economic competitors. A brilliant and obvious strategy.

While the demise of the American dollar will cause strife China has invested for a rainy day and has already moved to propose alternative currency. During the good years while American divested itself of those things that had substance, commodities such as gold, copper, palladium, platinum, iron, steel, zinc etc. China was buying them up in bulk, using these elements to both build cities of infrastructure and reserves to subsidize and trade in a new currency.

NK is both one of the most threatening international conflicts we face and a smokescreen keeping our nation from focusing on the real issues that pose the greatest amount of risk to our nation.