The Mad Man Theory of Diplomacy

There may well be a very simple answer to explain the so called “crazy” behavior of North Korean helmsman Kim Jong-un: Kim Jong Un is a subscriber to Richard Nixon’s “Mad Man Theory” of diplomacy.

As revealed in 2003 by the National Security Archives, declassified  State Department documents from 1969 demonstrate that Nixon and his accomplice in war crimes, Henry Kissinger, contrived a “nuclear alert” that year in order to scare the Soviets into pressuring North Vietnam to cave in to US demands during  the Paris peace negotiations.

Mad Men Nixon and Kissinger’s muclear brinkmanship, of course, wasn’t the only time they practiced what they preached. There was also the famous Christmas bombing of Hanoi, meant to demonstrate that Nixon was unstable and thus Hanoi would presumably capitulate to the U.S. demands.

The Vietnamesse, of course, were familiar with “Game Theory” where the Mad Man variation was hatched, and didn’t surrender.

From the Berlin crisis to the Cuban missile crisis to the Nixon nuclear alert, nuclear brinksmanship is as American as apple pie.

And now, just like his father and grandfather, Kim Jong-Un has now joined the Mad Man club.

Jack McCarthy lives in Tallahassee, Florida and can be reached at Jackm32301@yahoo.com

Jack McCarthy is a writer in Tallahassee, Florida. He can be reached at jackm32301@yahoo.com