Fog of war

Ho ho ho, so fog foiled Trump's little game plan. He planned all along to visit the Demilitarised Zone at Panmunjom, separating North and South Korea, but got his White House flunkeys to tell the media that he was far too busy to go there. I knew his instincts would be to try and make the traditional presidential trip to the DMZ. It's what US presidents do. But for once I thought Trump had given in to wiser counsel because of the heightened tension between Trump and Kim Jong-un. But no, Trump dismissed the advice and said he wanted to helicopter in and bring all the travelling press with him. But God in his wisdom blanketed the North Korean/South Korean border in thick fog and thwarted his plans. The whole helicopter caravan had to turn back. The language must have been blue in the Trump chopper. Actually it was pretty scary. The helicopter pilots said they couldn't see each other. They were flying blind which could have led to a total disaster, like a mid-air collision, so the sensible decision was taken, and Trump headed off to Beijing after another stopover meeting in South Korea. The incident has served as a reminder of how the weather can play such a crucial role in wars. Had Trump ordered an invasion of North Korea on that very day, using attack helicopters etc, would the fog have delayed the offensive? You bet it would have! Fog is a killer for flying, for dropping laser-guided weapons (lasers don't see through thick fog}, for screwing up ground-troop advances and even for overflying satellites. So Trump was foiled, and Kim probably had a good laugh. The fog of war doesn't have to involve actual fog, but the end result is the same - confusion and mistakes and bad moods. Poor old Trump, his grand moment of theatre taken from him. The only thing of real interest that emerged during the South Korean leg of his Asia trip was his remark to a South Korean audience: "Ultimately, it will all work out." What can that mean? Was this Trump making a throwaway remark without any real content or was he giving way a Big Secret. In other words, diplomatic efforts are beginning to get somewhere with Kim, and if so, whose efforts are they? Is there a secret US delegation even now in Pyongyang? There has been no hint of it to the US media, but who knows. One thing that can be said for certain is that the Little Rocket Man has not fired off a test ballistic missile for two whole months. Hmmm very interesting!