Mr Trump misunderstands, and thinks Pyongyang is going to launch a missile at the United States. So he orders all US strategic forces to go to Defcon 1: Defence Readiness Condition One -- nuclear war is imminent. American intelligence reports all this activity, and this time Mr Trump actually listens to them. With luck, the Chinese would stay out even as their North Korean ally is reduced to rubble, but who knows? If one of these generals found himself in the position of having to stop Mr Trump, he would face an agonising decision.

Source: Bangkok Post October 11, 2017 21:33 UTC