The former third-highest ranking general in the Air Force is warning that the U.S. needs to be prepared to use every means at its disposal, including the use of nuclear weapons, to prevent North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un from gaining the ability to strike an American city with a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile.
“He is a man who is unstable enough that, if he ever got a nuclear ICBM that could reach the United States, we must fully respect that and understand it,” Lt. Gen. Tom McInerney (ret.) told WND.tv/Radio America in an interview Thursday. “It is unacceptable to us as Americans that we could have North Korea being able to put U.S. cities at risk.”
The U.S. cannot rely on its missile defense program, he added, saying that the Obama administration had other priorities that took away from its development. Meanwhile, Kim was allowed to conduct, unimpeded, nearly three times as many missile tests as his father and grandfather combined, which, with assistance from Iran and China, has allowed the Hermit Kingdom to rapidly catch up technologically.
McInerney isn’t recommending immediate military action but rather a tough diplomatic and economic course that would target more than just North Korea.
“Number one, increase the diplomatic pressure on China and Russia by the global community, starting this Friday during President Trump’s visit to Germany,” he said. “Next, we’ve got to increase the economic sanctions on China and Russia and other countries that are doing business with North Korea, and I mean very tough sanctions.”
