By Alex Solari, Staff Writer

In a phone call on Thursday afternoon, Trump told Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, that the U.S. would be willing to take military action against North Korea if needed. Trump said this because of the missile test that North Korea conducted mid-February that ultimately failed.

Some may be asking, “Well, could this missile actually do severe damage to our country?” Well, unfortunately, yes. Reuters, an international news agency, said, “North Korea is working to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States.”

It should be noted that there are many other countries that have these missiles. According to Arms Control, this includes Russia, China, France, India, Israel, and the U.S.

This means that other countries have capabilities to attack us that Trump isn’t worried about, which is quite interesting. This also means that the U.S. could counterattack North Korea with its own missiles if needed.

It should be noted that Trump has created some extreme tension between Syria and the United States recently. The U.S. launched a military air strike on a government airbase in Syria, in response to the chemical weapons attacks imposed on Syrian citizens by the Syrian government, which caused dozens of fatalities. According to CNN Politics, “[The attack] represents a substantial escalation of the US military campaign in the region, and could be interpreted by the Syrian government as an act of war.”

So why is this information relevant to Syria? Well, it’s clear that Trump is ready to go to war with someone, whether that be Syria or North Korea. Without a doubt, North Korea testing missiles and the Syrian government attacking its own people is scary.

Particularly, the idea of Syria attacking innocent children is heartbreaking and terrifying, and I can understand why some may be for Trump going to war with others, and with Syria in particular. But what’s even scarier than Syria’s or North Korea’s government is the potential loss of thousands of American soldiers, and the amount of financial strain a new war could have on the U.S. economy.

Trump has been the president for only 2 and a half months now. Isn’t that crazy? With the amount of controversy and chaos surrounding the Trump administration, you would think it’s been years. If Trump keeps up this aggressive attitude, we’re going to be at war with dozens of countries by the end of his presidency. I know it sounds like a joke, but hear me out. In two and a half months, Trump has provoked two countries.

If you do the math, that means if Trump keeps it up with these threats, he will have provoked roughly 38 countries during his presidency. I’m not saying that military action should never be used, but it should be used in only the most dire circumstances.

Although there’s no indication that North Korea would want to attack us specifically, it’s still a terrifying thought that a country as corrupt as North Korea could hold so much power.

In fact, according to Global Security, North Korea has the largest military in the world, with a staggering 1.3 million members. And it’s no secret that North Korea has had tension with the United States for decades now, going all the way back to the Korean War.

I believe that military action should be used sparingly, and that Trump seems overly excited to go to war with someone, but I also believe that North Korea should be watched closely. If there is a strong indication that North Korea is working to attack the U.S., then at that point military action should be considered.