Wars & Rumors of War

U.S. considers shooting North Korea test missiles out of the sky - UPI.com
UPI reports: "The U.S. military is considering a bolder response to ballistic missile tests by North Korea's socialist government -- blasting them completely out of the sky, according to sources. [...] Experts warn that by its very nature, shooting down one of North Korea's test missiles would bring a substantial risk of escalation -- and perhaps push the scope of consequences outside the Pentagon's control and impact U.S. allies in the region, particularly Japan and South Korea."

Comment: It's a very dangerous situation. It seems that no matter what happens, we are on the path of escalation, as it's extremely unlikely that North Korea will suddenly change course. Diplomacy has been tried. Sanctions have been tried. Back-channel communications and third-party interventions have been tried. All the usual tools in the kit have been tried and found wanting, only the hammer of military force remains.