'The Korean Peninsula - What are the Options?'

For our October meeting, we will return to the situation - continually threatening to become a crisis if not a war - on the Korean Peninsula. On Sunday, October 8, Eric See, Director of Outreach and Organizing for the Peace Action national office, will present the various angles facing the U.S. and the world.

Those angles include two bellicose governments - North Korea and the U.S. - engaging in a war of words no more winnable than an actual war that could feature the worst possible weapons. They also include the role of other actors in the region, and how they might help raise or lower the temperature. And there is also the possibility of a diplomatic solution which affords North Korea some dignity, and its neighbors, the U.S. and the world a measure of hope for avoiding such a war - to say nothing of the anxiety of wondering what will happen next.

Eric will examine these elements; he will also dig deeper into U.S. strategy in the region. This is typified by the preponderance of U.S. troops in South Korea: 30,000 spread across 118 bases. It is also typified by the missile defense system we recently began deploying, called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). Far from actually protecting South Korea, Japan or even the U.S., this, like virtually any missile defense system, is chiefly meant to deter a retaliation to a first-strike attack. Thus it serves to increase tensions among countries more than alleviate them.

The October 8 event begins at 7 PM at the Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo, 300 E. Santa Inez Avenue (at Ellsworth) in San Mateo. Admission is free, contributions welcome. The UUSM is wheelchair accessible.

Eric's time as a staff member with Peace Action and its affiliates spans over 20 years. Come hear his thoughts and insights on a situation that is likely to evolve right up to October 8.

Free, contributions welcome.