ShareIn one week, terrorism, fiery comments, disputes and the threat of use of the nuclear weapons took the lead in the international scene in most of the world's capitals, from US to North Korea to Europe and all the way to the Gulf. Terrorism is no longer only targeting innocents in a French street, but has turned into a global disaster that affects the security, safety and the lives of millions of people. Yemen is still struggling and going from bad to worse, and the dispute in the Gulf region is still ongoing.
Is this the end of the world? A commentary a few days ago said tension and threats are no longer acts by extremist groups targeting people in a compound or coffee shop, but rather by countries that believe they can control other countries and perhaps the world because they have sophisticated weapons.
All the news today revolves around the tense situation between North Korea and the United States. North Korea stated clearly that it is ready to give America a "hard lesson" with its strategic nuclear power if military action is taken against it. The US, Australia and Japan urged the international community to pressure North Korea to abandon "threats and provocation" tactics and impose more diplomatic and economic sanctions against it for its missile tests.
The foreign ministers of the three countries said in a joint statement at the end of their meeting on the sidelines of the Manila forum that "new sanctions on North Korea must be strictly enforced". Washington, which initiated the new sanctions resolution, said strict adherence by the international community to sanction North Korea would deprive Pyongyang of one-third of its current foreign currency revenue of $3 billion.
It is clear that the American reluctance to respond with military force is due to the fear that a preemptive strike on North Korea would most likely lead Pyongyang against its neighbor South Korea, which could lead to the death of thousands, including US military and interests stationed in the country. The way now is to increase US military presence in the region to show strength, but this method has so far brought little benefit to the US. The US defense secretary said US efforts to resolve the crisis with Pyongyang is currently focused on diplomacy. I don't think it will change North Korea's plans after all.
Some European parliamentarians have called for an initiative to create a new defense structure for the European Union, expressing concern about the "ambiguity" of the future of its military relations with the United States and UK. But a number of researchers have questioned the ability of this union to stop countries from attacking and threatening other countries.
Some claim that 28-nation bloc may not be able to be seen as a deterrent power, but rather as a united group of big nations.
These international disputes and conflicts have negative implications on the world and not only on the price of gold and the rise or fall of the dollar, because they pose a national threat to the entire existence of countries due to differences in views and policies. Millions of people could pay with their lives. This is terrorism in the world today.
By Muna Al-Fuzai
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