McCain says North Korea 'could be a Cuban Missile Crisis in slow motion'
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) weighed in on President Trump's standoff with North Korea Sunday in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, suggesting the situation "could be a Cuban Missile Crisis in slow motion."
McCain said he would prefer China "put the brakes on this," but would not take U.S. military intervention off the table. "This is very serious. Their capabilities of firing artillery on Seoul is absolutely real," he said. "And this, again, is why we have to bring every pressure to bear. And the major lever on North Korea today, and maybe the only lever, is China."
"But to say you absolutely rule out that option, of course, would be foolish," McCain continued. "But it has to be the ultimate last option." Watch an excerpt of his comments below, and see this analysis from The Week's Harry J. Kazianis for a more measured look at Pyongyang's capabilities. Bonnie Kristian
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
‘Managed wildfires have spread out of control before’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Separating the real from the fake: tips for spotting AI slopThe Week Recommends Advanced AI may have made slop videos harder to spot, but experts say it’s still possible to detect them
-
Europe sets 2027 deadline to wean itself from Russian natural gasIN THE SPOTLIGHT As international negotiators attempt to end Russia’s years-long invasion of Ukraine, lawmakers across the EU have reached a milestone agreement to uncouple the continent’s gas consumption from Moscow’s petrochemical infrastructure
-
British warship repels 'largest Houthi attack to date' in the Red SeaSpeed read Western allies warn of military response to Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels if attacks on ships continue
-
Houthi rebels claim Red Sea ship attacksspeed read Iran-backed Yemeni group vows to escalate aggression towards Israel-linked vessels in revenge for Gaza war
-
Israel plans next phase of Gaza war as first hostages releasedSpeed read After four-day ceasefire 'we will not stop' until destruction of Hamas, says Israel
-
Mob storms Russian airport 'looking for Jews'Speed Read Plane from Israel surrounded by rioters chanting antisemitic slogans after landing in Russia's Dagestan region
-
Tuberville's military promotions block is upending lives, combat readiness, 3 military branch chiefs saySpeed Read
-
Ukraine's counteroffensive is making incremental gains. Does it matter in the broader war?Speed Read
-
US commissions first-ever Navy ship in a foreign portSpeed Read
-
British spy chief, Wagner video suggest Prigozhin is alive and freely 'floating around'Speed Read
