North Korea-America face-off and possibility of war

These seem to be dangerous times. No one should delude himself about it. Despite that the 21st century has humongous possibilities and several promises for us, what is happening among world’s powerful nations should be of concern to those who follows developments in world politics.

The address delivered by the  United States (U.S.) President, Mr Donald Trump, during the just-concluded United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is something that should call for concerns. The speech, which sent shockwaves to the diplomatic circle, took many by surprise. Many could not hide their bemusement while the American leader called out the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un.

It is no longer strange that the two leaders don’t see eye-to-eye. In fact, it would be safe to refer to them as sworn enemies, and that is where my fear lies. These are not the kinds of enemies the world wants to have right now. They are not good for each other, neither are they good for the world. The fact that they are world leaders makes it even more frightening. I will tell you why these are bad guys on the world stage and heading some powerful nations.

Nick Kramer, an analyst with deep knowledge of North Korean politics and its current leader, writes that Kim Jong-Un was taught to believe that he was essentially divine. Kramer writes: “In North Korea, his grandfather and father were revered like gods, and he has no less of an opinion about himself. Arrogant and aggressive, he has always gotten away with everything in life.  He has never had to face the consequences of his bad behaviour. He is a bully, who no one has ever hit back. And if any person ever tried to punch him back, his daddy fed them to the wild dogs.”

While saying that Kim does not think like a normal person, Kramer said the North Korean “Spoilt Brat” as Kim is popularly called in a segment of the western media, does not consider what happens after he strikes.

Kramer writes: “He doesn’t know what comes next.  This blissful ignorance likely extends to what happens after a nuke launch. There have never been consequences to his temper tantrums before. In his mind – Why should there be any now? This makes him irrational and unpredictable.”

If what were written by Kramer are true characteristics of a powerful leader that Kim is, there is the frightening assertion by psychiatrists about an equally powerful, though older Donald Trump. The American president, according to the health experts at Yale University, has a “dangerous mental illness.”

Speaking at the conference at Yale’s School of Medicine recently, one of the mental health professionals, Dr John Gartner, a psychotherapist, who advised psychiatric residents at Johns Hopkins University Medical School until 2015, said: “We have an ethical responsibility to warn the public about Donald Trump’s dangerous mental illness.”

Gartner, also a founding member of Duty to Warn, an organisation of several dozens of mental health professionals who think Trump is mentally unfit to be president, said the U.S. president’s statement about having the largest crowd at an inauguration was just one of many that served as warnings of a larger problem.

James Gilligan, a psychiatrist and professor at New York University, told the conference he had worked on some of the “most dangerous people in society”, including murderers and rapists – but that he was convinced by the “dangerousness” of  Trump.

This is where my fear is. That the two leaders may have had mental issues, which send shivers down my spine because it means they can, in their irrationality, transfer their anger on the rest of the world at the slightest provocation. I bet the North Korean young leader has already put his acts together and ready for what Trump might send his way. Let us hope the two won’t take the world down as they reach for each other’s jugular.