President Donald Trump poses for a photo with military commanders at the U.S. Eighth Army Operation Command Center at U.S. military installation Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, November 7, 2017. Also pictured is U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Newsweek: Will the U.S. Go to War With North Korea? Expert Estimates 50/50 Chance of Conflict in 2018
A war between the U.S. and North Korea is looking increasingly likely, with a nonproliferation expert estimating a 50/50 chance of conflict breaking out over the next year.
Mark Fitzpatrick, the executive director of the global security think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Americas, is the latest expert to closely evaluate the risk of a nuclear war as President Donald Trump continues to seek an international response shunning the North Korean regime in his five-nation Asia tour.
“Given the personalities involved on both sides, I do not rate continuation of the status quo as higher than 50 percent,” Fitzpatrick wrote in a post published Wednesday on the IISS website. He noted that he was not the only person to predict an increased likelihood of conflict, as former CIA director John Brennan recently put the chance of war breaking out at 20-25 percent.
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WNU Editor: I am still sticking to my prediction that there is a zero chance of a U.S.- North Korean war in the foreseeable future. But I will admit that when I read reports like this one .... North Korea orders workers in China, Russia to return home (UPI) .... my concerns do rise.
