Siege of Fear
"[Parents], stay calm [in the event of an emergency]."
"Listen to the news. Do not call the school. Be patient. Wait until you are told to pick up your child."
Guam, Ministry of education
"This goes to show to the other worlds, to the other nations and the countries, that Guam may be small [but] our faith and trust is big."
Father Mike Cristostomo, Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica
"The newspaper says it only takes 14 minutes for their bombs to get here, but, you know, the Lord is going to take care of us."
Elena Sanicolas, grandmother shopping at Kmart, Hagatna, Guam
"It's important, especially today, to pray for peace and for two people being able to come together, two leaders of the world, and think that there is a bigger picture that encompasses everybody rather than to have such huge conflict."
Ronnie Connelly, church congregant, Hagatna, Guam
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| Local residents attend Sunday Mass on August 13 at Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagatña, Guam. CNN |
It is, without an iota of doubt, a sobering experience for these U.S. citizens to suddenly find themselves at the eye of an unpredictable storm whose dimensions may become unfathomably gigantic in ramifications that have the potential of swallowing much of the world in a violent confrontation fed by paranoia and pride. The U.S. territory of Guam's 162,000 inhabitants find themselves a potential target of an unstable megalomaniac who will not rest until he has succeeded in blackmailing the world into recognizing him as a powerful world-class leader.
Even that recognition may not succeed in persuading Kim Jong-Un that he has finally achieved his goal. Which is to inspire fear in all who may doubt his divinely gifted strengths. For fear is the instrument he recognizes as the one reliable tool in his growing arsenal of lethal weapons, that can guarantee that none would dare challenge his arsenal, well stocked with advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads of an as-yet undetermined capacity.
It is the withheld unknowns alongside the demonstrated knowns that have been pridefully placed on show, as a combination that instills insecurity and trepidation in the minds of the leaders of nations whose geographic proximity places them within North Korea's weapons' orbits. As the technology advances, the orbits widen and the targets become more potentially plentiful. But in his joyful cat-and-mouse game with the United States, confronting a man holding actual power whose reactions are as unpredictable as his own, Kim delights in sending a warning shot across the bow.
And, as it happens, the bow has been identified as the Island of Guam with its vulnerable population, including American military installations and members. The former Spanish colony, an American possession since 1898, is 85 percent Roman Catholic, and its 26 churches have been urged by Guam archbishop Michael Byrnes to "offer prayers for peace between our nations, just resolutions of differences, and prudence in both speech and action."
The call to prayer is having its beneficial effect on tamping down somewhat peoples' urgent concerns, for knowing that the Lord has been invoked to restrain the impetuosity of two men whose belligerence and egos on full public display certainly does warrant concern, yet the comfort of God's guidance is welcome to an outcome that may preserve lives when and if the threatened four Hwasong-12 missiles touch down adjacent their coastline.
Mid-August approaches.
"We pray", said 82-year-old Dora Salazar from her village of Mangilao "that God will touch his heart", as she and others concentrate their efforts on acquainting God with Kim Jong-Un's threats.
Labels: Crisis Management, Guam, North Korea, Nuclear Technology, Threats, United States
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, August 15, 2017
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