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International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, center, poses with North Korea's Sports Minister and Olympic Committee president Kim Il Guk, left, and South Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-hwan at the IOC headquarters on Jan. 20, 2018. (Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)
Another war with North Korea would be disastrous. It could easily go nuclear. It should be unthinkable, and there are peaceful diplomatic alternatives. For South Korea, which would bear the brunt of any conflict with North Korea, there is no military option. As a group of 58 retired US military leaders acknowledge in a letter to Trump, that military action "would result in hundreds of thousands of casualties." The people of Korea, North and South, the peoples of the region, and Americans all want peace.
The Winter Olympics and Paralympics, to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, offer a unique moment to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. On a very encouraging note, in November 2017, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an Olympic Truce, or a cessation of hostilities during the Winter Games, which gained the support of 157 Member States including both Koreas and future hosts of the Olympic Games: Japan, China, France and the United States.
The Olympic Truce--a tradition which dates to the ancient Greek Olympics--represents an important opportunity to defuse tensions and begin the work of reconciliation on the Korean peninsula. The United States should fully support both Korean governments' current efforts to restore a peace process.
In a very significant development, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has successfully persuaded a reluctant Donald Trump to postpone U.S.-South Korea war drills that would have overlapped with the Olympics. These joint military exercises typically consist of hundreds of thousands of ground troops and such provocative scenarios as "decapitation" raids and simulated nuclear attacks. Delaying them could pave the way for a longer-term "freeze for freeze" deal--a suspension of military exercises for a ban on North Korea's nuclear and missile testing, and ultimately, an official end to the Korean War by replacing the 1953 Armistice with a permanent peace treaty.
Let's build on this momentum! We in the United States have a special responsibility to demand diplomacy, not war, with North Korea. An ad hoc network, the Korea Collaboration, calls for weeks of action during the Winter Olympics (February 9 - 25) and Paralympics (March 9 - 18), as well as the broader period of the Olympic Truce (February 2 to March 25). We call on groups and individuals to organize actions or other events in your communities. These could include:
The coincidence of the Winter Olympic and Paralympics being held in South Korea this year--as opposed to France, Italy, or Utah--is a gift of time, but not a lot of time. Those who refuse to accept the inevitability of a catastrophic war with North Korea must take advantage of it.
Note:In addition to leading Peace Action and the Peace Action Education Fund, the author convenes the Korea Collaboration network. Please see the Peace Action and Korea Collaboration Resource Center websites for more information on how to support the Olympic Truce.
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Another war with North Korea would be disastrous. It could easily go nuclear. It should be unthinkable, and there are peaceful diplomatic alternatives. For South Korea, which would bear the brunt of any conflict with North Korea, there is no military option. As a group of 58 retired US military leaders acknowledge in a letter to Trump, that military action "would result in hundreds of thousands of casualties." The people of Korea, North and South, the peoples of the region, and Americans all want peace.
The Winter Olympics and Paralympics, to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, offer a unique moment to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. On a very encouraging note, in November 2017, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an Olympic Truce, or a cessation of hostilities during the Winter Games, which gained the support of 157 Member States including both Koreas and future hosts of the Olympic Games: Japan, China, France and the United States.
The Olympic Truce--a tradition which dates to the ancient Greek Olympics--represents an important opportunity to defuse tensions and begin the work of reconciliation on the Korean peninsula. The United States should fully support both Korean governments' current efforts to restore a peace process.
In a very significant development, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has successfully persuaded a reluctant Donald Trump to postpone U.S.-South Korea war drills that would have overlapped with the Olympics. These joint military exercises typically consist of hundreds of thousands of ground troops and such provocative scenarios as "decapitation" raids and simulated nuclear attacks. Delaying them could pave the way for a longer-term "freeze for freeze" deal--a suspension of military exercises for a ban on North Korea's nuclear and missile testing, and ultimately, an official end to the Korean War by replacing the 1953 Armistice with a permanent peace treaty.
Let's build on this momentum! We in the United States have a special responsibility to demand diplomacy, not war, with North Korea. An ad hoc network, the Korea Collaboration, calls for weeks of action during the Winter Olympics (February 9 - 25) and Paralympics (March 9 - 18), as well as the broader period of the Olympic Truce (February 2 to March 25). We call on groups and individuals to organize actions or other events in your communities. These could include:
The coincidence of the Winter Olympic and Paralympics being held in South Korea this year--as opposed to France, Italy, or Utah--is a gift of time, but not a lot of time. Those who refuse to accept the inevitability of a catastrophic war with North Korea must take advantage of it.
Note:In addition to leading Peace Action and the Peace Action Education Fund, the author convenes the Korea Collaboration network. Please see the Peace Action and Korea Collaboration Resource Center websites for more information on how to support the Olympic Truce.
Another war with North Korea would be disastrous. It could easily go nuclear. It should be unthinkable, and there are peaceful diplomatic alternatives. For South Korea, which would bear the brunt of any conflict with North Korea, there is no military option. As a group of 58 retired US military leaders acknowledge in a letter to Trump, that military action "would result in hundreds of thousands of casualties." The people of Korea, North and South, the peoples of the region, and Americans all want peace.
The Winter Olympics and Paralympics, to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, offer a unique moment to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. On a very encouraging note, in November 2017, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an Olympic Truce, or a cessation of hostilities during the Winter Games, which gained the support of 157 Member States including both Koreas and future hosts of the Olympic Games: Japan, China, France and the United States.
The Olympic Truce--a tradition which dates to the ancient Greek Olympics--represents an important opportunity to defuse tensions and begin the work of reconciliation on the Korean peninsula. The United States should fully support both Korean governments' current efforts to restore a peace process.
In a very significant development, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has successfully persuaded a reluctant Donald Trump to postpone U.S.-South Korea war drills that would have overlapped with the Olympics. These joint military exercises typically consist of hundreds of thousands of ground troops and such provocative scenarios as "decapitation" raids and simulated nuclear attacks. Delaying them could pave the way for a longer-term "freeze for freeze" deal--a suspension of military exercises for a ban on North Korea's nuclear and missile testing, and ultimately, an official end to the Korean War by replacing the 1953 Armistice with a permanent peace treaty.
Let's build on this momentum! We in the United States have a special responsibility to demand diplomacy, not war, with North Korea. An ad hoc network, the Korea Collaboration, calls for weeks of action during the Winter Olympics (February 9 - 25) and Paralympics (March 9 - 18), as well as the broader period of the Olympic Truce (February 2 to March 25). We call on groups and individuals to organize actions or other events in your communities. These could include:
The coincidence of the Winter Olympic and Paralympics being held in South Korea this year--as opposed to France, Italy, or Utah--is a gift of time, but not a lot of time. Those who refuse to accept the inevitability of a catastrophic war with North Korea must take advantage of it.
Note:In addition to leading Peace Action and the Peace Action Education Fund, the author convenes the Korea Collaboration network. Please see the Peace Action and Korea Collaboration Resource Center websites for more information on how to support the Olympic Truce.