“Fire and fury.” He liked it so much, he said it twice. “Fire, and fury, and frankly power.”
This was not off the cuff, or in the heat of the moment. These are the considered words of the president, snarling that “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States”.
Which of course it promptly did. Donald Trump is no stranger to bombast or bellicosity – but Pyongyang is the past master. They trumped him, you could say; warning that the Korean People’s Army plans to rain “enveloping fire” – that word again – in the direction of Guam.
Which of course it won’t. Sneak attacks are North Korea’s speciality, preferably deniable – as in 2010 when it sank a South Korean corvette, or the cyber-attacks Seoul experiences almost daily.
A rogue regime that rarely even bothers (as law requires) to warn the International Civil Aviation Organisation of impending missile tests is hardly going to flag up any serious plans for aggression in advance, complete with date window and missile flight paths to a decimal point.
But Kim Jong-un loves the attention, and he has yet again seized the initiative with this latest reckless ploy.
Pyongyang barks incessantly; might it bite? The worry is real: its jaws and venom are fast growing stronger and nastier. No longer just a regional threat, which it has been for decades, the Kim regime’s accelerating nuclear and missile prowess render it now a global menace.
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Read more:
North Korea threatens to land four missiles close to Guam in mid-August
As the North Korean crisis deepens, Trump upends the nuclear calculus
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So what is the world to do? A long history of failure makes it easier, alas, to prescribe what not to do – although pointing this out never seems to stop repetition of the same old mistakes.
Mr Trump is right about one thing. ‘Strategic patience’, his predecessor’s mantra, does not work. Indeed, it has made matters much worse.
Mulling which of America’s foes might respond to an outstretched hand by unclenching their fist, Barack Obama was told that chances were better with Cuba and Iran than North Korea. That assessment proved correct. Yet the dangerous consequence of neglecting the hardest nut to crack was that this gave the Kim regime more time to build bigger and better weapons of mass destruction.
Another mistake was to ignore regime change in Pyongyang. Thanks to active US diplomacy, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il became, to a degree, known quantities. Yet Kim Jong-un, after almost six years in power, remains largely unknown. It would help sound policy-making if some Americans besides Dennis Rodman had actually met Mr Kim, and the people around him.
Mr Trump, ever inconsistent, had once suggested he might meet Kim Jong-un – over a hamburger – and even that he would be “honoured” to do so. But then he settled on fire and fury.
Yet this draws the wrong lesson from the failure of ‘strategic patience’. As several wags have quipped, impatience is no better – and where’s the strategy? After half a year, Mr Trump’s actual policy on Korea remains as clear as mud. Every time the president or a colleague breathes fire and fury, someone else – often the secretary of state Rex Tillerson – steps in with calmer words.
So what’s the plan? In the front line, the US’s nervous regional allies South Korea and Japan would sorely like to know. Even Kim Jong-un must be confused. If that is intentional – some reckon Mr Trump is following Richard Nixon’s “madman” playbook – it clearly isn’t working.
What has worked – imperfectly, but better than either neglect or confrontation – is diplomacy. The last US president to mull a military strike on North Korea was Bill Clinton in 1994, over its nuclear cheating. When the Pentagon gave him apocalyptic casualty and cost projections, Mr Clinton drew back from the abyss – as Mr Trump surely must – and tried peace instead.
Within months the US-North Korea Agreed Framework, funded by South Korea and Japan, had all the North’s known nuclear materiel frozen under IAEA monitoring. True, it transpired later that Pyongyang cheated with a secret programme to enrich uranium. For that George W Bush dumped the framework – only to try again later, through Chinese-hosted six party talks.
For sure, North Korea is a nasty regime and a slippery customer. But US deterrence has kept the peninsula at peace for 64 years. To risk a horrific new war in Korea, at a safe distance from the US, over what Kim Jong-un may have and might (but won’t) do is unimaginable – isn’t it? Or to stumble into Armageddon by being lured into a lose-lose game of chicken.
Forget fire and fury. Winston Churchill was wiser: a true conservative, who unlike Mr Trump had also been a soldier. Jaw-jaw, said Churchill, is better than war-war. That is an abiding truth.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJames%20Cameron%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESam%20Worthington%2C%20Zoe%20Saldana%2C%20Sigourney%20Weaver%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
RESULT
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)
Race card:
6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; 2,200m
7.40pm: Conditions; Dh240,000; 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 2,000m
8.50pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed; Dh265,000; 1,200m
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; 1,600m
10pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 1,400m
