The U.S. Plays Watchdog in Korea and Wins a Trade Agreement

After the bombardment of South Korean island Yeonpyeong, the United States intervened with perfect deterrence and persuasion in order to contain the military situation and snap up a major trade agreement while it was at it.

The American foreign policy subtly and effectively used persuasion and dissuasion. This kind of policy has been used since 1953 when the Korean War ended in a stalemate at the 38th parallel.

Since then, the U.S. has maintained the Seventh Fleet in the Yokosuka harbor in Japan. This fleet — whose flagship is the U.S.S. George Washington — regularly operates with 60 to 70 ships, 200 to 300 aircraft and 40,000 personnel. Apart from this huge strike force, the U.S. has 28,000 men based in the South Korean territory.

Needless to say, this military presence has made up the power of deterrence under which North Korea has been issuing threats and saber-rattling whenever it felt like for 57 years. But it still has not made any move and has been careful not to attack the South. The North Korean artillery batteries launched an attack, scared the whole world, but that was it.

Obama, who is also commander-in-chief of the United States armed forces, immediately sent the George Washington air-and-sea fleet to the Sea of Japan. Deterrence was played at a higher level through strategic games.

The result was impressive. As always, North Korea issued threats, but refrained from re-attacking the Yeonpyeong Island. The power of deterrence proved its effectiveness. But it didn’t take long before persuasion saw the light of day.

This trade agreement is very advantageous to the U.S. and could enable it to increase exports to South Korea.

The United States was looking for a trade agreement with South Korea under which tariffs on goods of the two countries would be mutually eliminated. This agreement is very advantageous for the U.S. and could enable it to increase exports to South Korea at a time when Obama must fight unemployment.

The trade agreement was signed today. Was it a coincidence? No, it wasn’t. Persuasion played its role. South Korea quickly understood that the deterrent power of the U.S. was vital for the country. There is only a fine line between deterrence and persuasion. Victory for the U.S. without any single aircraft involved.

This example is characteristic of the American superpower and its policy of using military power to deter or strike when necessary. A diplomatic fight with North Korea and China and a trade fight with South Korea were won with the simple power of deterrence. Machiavelli — who advocated that having the striking power was important, though in the view of only striking occasionally — would not have done any better.

Those who — and they are many — take pleasure in talking about the decline of the United States should learn their lesson from these events. The U.S. has adopted Von Clausewitz’s motto, according to which “war is the continuation of politics by other means.” Clausewitz could have even added that the ability and the apparent aptitude for being ready to go to war anytime is a terrifying weapon.

And yet, only the United States has adopted this policy, and that gives it an edge over any other country. The Europeans do not want to hear about making war anymore and the Chinese do not see any point in it. So, the power of deterrence and persuasion remains an asset of great importance for the United States.