We had one chance to stop this. That was in 1994.
As I wrote 2 weeks ago, I agree. The way you prevent a problem from becoming big is to stop it when it’s small. However, invading a nation comes with the cost of having to rebuilt it, but it’s still a small price to pay compared to the devastation of nuclear war.
North Korea’s leadership isn’t to wake up one morning with an epiphany to stop being hostile to the US and its allies. This type of aggression has a tendency to keep getting worse and worse, until something breaks. Just read any history book on this: mentally unstable aggressors always fight to the death. North Korea went from launching just or or two missiles a year to now doing it once a week. At the rate this is going, it’s inevitable one will hit (either intentionally or accidentally) something important, and then Trump will be forced to respond. War is certain…this is not sustainable. Maybe this year…maybe next, but it is happening. And it will cause a lot of disruption and loss of life, but there is no way out, but it’s for the better (sorta like chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which kills healthy cells and causes sickness, but can cure the disease).
Although MAD may have prevented all-out war with Russia during the Cold War, North Korea is not the same. It’s a much smaller country and the leadership is less rational. But also, the use of WMDs, even if it ensures North Korea’s destruction, is still bad. We would all like to see an outcome where war is avoided, but history shows war is the only end.
The stock market will probably fall a lot if war is initiated, but it will be a great buying opportunity.