#i said tonight that international law was an area i was thinking about pursuing and my mom and sister were like 'too unstable. nothing

[finnickodaiir]

.

[halfwayinlight]

Title:  Fauxrents, Ch 3 Rating: PG, possibly up to PG13 in future chapters Fandom: Star Trek TNG Pairing: Will Riker/Deanna Troi

It wasn’t surprising that the corridors of the Enterprise were empty at zero twenty, but Will didn’t realize exactly how tired he was until he passed Deanna’s door and nearly gained his and realized he was supposed to be three more decks away. To where she was staying with the Potts boys several decks below. Running his hand over his beard in frustration, he went ahead and entered his own quarters. He might as well take a quick sonic shower, change into his bedclothes, and grab a fresh uniform for in the morning.

Thus far, he was nearly a week into life as a parent-by-proxy, and things were settling a little. The boys were getting better at doing their homework and having it mostly completed by the time that either he or Deanna met them in the evenings. Deanna had found a few activities to better cover the gap between the end of the school day and shift changes.

They’d discovered that the boys liked playing various games and enjoyed swimming, which they had previously only done on shore leave. So at least twice now, including in the earlier evening, they all went for a long swim after dinner. It wore out the boys, and it was a good stress release. And besides, he knew Deanna enjoyed the water, even if she still thought it was weird that humans insisted on swimsuits. He would never stop teasing her about that.

He tried not to think about how nice his bed would feel right about now. The Potts quarters did have the main bedroom, but it still felt too strange to sleep in a couple’s bed that wasn’t his. The couch wasn’t nearly long enough. More than once he found Deanna asleep on it before he was ready for bed. And he envied how she always seemed to curl so neatly on it. It was about time to check with Data or Geordi about other options because he’d spent half the day with an aching back from trying to fit himself onto the sofa.

Perception, Will reflected, really was a strange thing. It felt like it took twice as long to walk to the turbolift, go three more decks down, and walk two corridors than it had taken for him to leave the bridge and get to his own quarters. The distance was only a little further, but the family corridors were silent this late.

This particular call out so late at night was a two-part issue. The first was a yellow alert from a dicey situation with the region of space and a borderline-hostile and certainly not friendly ships patrolling the region. He had managed to smooth things over without an actual incident and without needing to rouse the captain, who had been working far too much in the last weeks and needed sleep worse than Will. He’d asked Data to call him first tonight. And although it was the most pressing to the overall wellbeing of the ship, it had turned out to be the easier of the two issues needing his attention.

Once the alert was over, a call had come up from sickbay requesting senior staff. Will had turned over command to Data and dutifully made his way down. When he had walked into the ICU area, Will found the doctor on duty with four surly looking patients.

Ensign Sa’Naar was glaring at the floor, his left eye swollen shut. Starling and Ulani were two other ensigns, both fresh out of the academy and on their first assignments. Just new enough and resembling one another enough that Will still struggled to distinguish them from the other. One was being tended to by a nurse who was mending something in his hand. The other screened for internal injuries. And the ever-eager-to-prove-herself Von Treaes was sitting in the farthest bio bed protesting that she was fine in an uncanny mimic of the way Deanna usually handled her stays in sickbay. With no more success than the counselor, either. As she was clearly unable to get up from the table without assistance.

No one had wanted to talk for long minutes. In the end, it took the report of the security officer on watch tonight and a few previous odd reports to piece it together. And Starling had broken first, pulled into a private room. Twelve questions in, and the whole story behind the overly competitive ensigns had unraveled.

All four were confined to separate private cubicles in sickbay while they rested. Tomorrow he’d have to investigate everything. He had no issue with blowing off steam. Or friendly competition. There were plenty of tournaments during the course of any given year for all sorts of games and sports. But a fight ring on Deck 28 in some empty storage bays made Will’s blood boil. There was nothing sporting or okay about knocking each other senseless.

For now, though, his initial anger had burned off. It was far past time to be sleeping. He could only imagine what Deanna and the captain were going to have to say about this. That was a problem for tomorrow. Or at least six hours from now.

He’d fully prepared to have to move Deanna before he fell asleep on the couch in the Potts quarters. In fact, he was really looking forward to her familiar weight and warmth resting against him. He swore he slept better with her beside him. In all honesty, he was tired of the couch, though. It was too short and forced him to scrunch into awkward positions. Sending him twice to sickbay for a head ache caused by pinched nerves in his neck one day and muscle spasms in his back on another. Easily remedied by Beverly… but even she had questioned why he was putting himself through it. The simplest answer was that he had been too busy during the day to deal with a better bed solution.

The lounge was silent. Lights still on as they had been when he was called away a few hours ago. He trudged on toward the low light still on in the boys’ room, and he was fully prepared to lay down the law about how they had to go to sleep. Deanna would be wiped out in the morning, and she was never a morning person as it was.

But he found everyone deeply asleep. Both boys and Deanna, still in her maroon suit, were on Willie’s bed in a big cuddly pile. His breath left him in a rush. It wasn’t something he had known he’d ever wanted until he saw this. This small slice of domestic normalcy.

For long moments he wondered what it would’ve been like. If he’d said yes six years ago. If he’d met her at Risa. If he’d tried to make it work. If he’d turned down the Potemkin. If he had done anything to pursue what she had so clearly wanted. What he had feared. And now he was feeling foolish and wondering what, exactly, he had feared. If they would’ve had a kid already. Probably not right away. But in six years, they might have had one.

And he might have screwed that up, too. Or messed up a kid along the way. Probably not the same way his father had… but the specter of that lurked.

He was so, so tired. But he couldn’t drag himself away just yet. He was trying to absorb this moment and the way that Willie was sprawled across his bed, his hand curled around Deanna’s arm, reaching for assurance even in sleep. The boy’s pillow was damp with drool. And Jake was curled up, his back to Deanna’s. But still close enough to seek the warmth and comfort she offered.

A family to come home to, even if it’s only temporary. Why the hell did he run from this?

He wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to seek out his own comfort tonight. Rubbing his face and beard, he made his way to the far side. Jake was lean for his age, not that Will was complaining. His arms slid under knees and shoulders, and he lifted quickly and moved the older boy to his own bed a few feet away. In retrospect, he should’ve pulled down the covers first. But Jake wasn’t complaining.

It was going to be a tight fit with both him and Deanna on the twin bed, but he was determined to make it work. One down, one to go. He carefully eased Willie’s hand from Deanna’s arm and tried to shift her without waking her.

A hand caught his arm and a groggy protest. “ ‘was warm,” she mumbled, eyes still closed.

“Sssh, I’m moving him over so I can sleep—”

“Not fair to kick him out of his own bed,” Deanna countered groggily. She pushed herself up, blinking owlishly and clearly attempting to muster the energy to get to her feet and trudge to the other room.

He sighed but nodded, his brain too tired to figure out how this was going to work now. But he slid an arm around her and let her lean on him as he tugged the blanket back over the youngest boy and led her back to the lounge, calling for the lights to dim. Will planned to tuck her into the sofa, but she caught his arm and pulled him down to the cushions.

The last days since they had suddenly taken on parenthood, each night seemed to end with both of them too exhausted to make many decisions. Maybe it was better this way. So he went with it and stretched out, trying to find a cushion to support his head and neck.

In moments, she was curling into the spaces left. Her head tucked under his chin, weight shifted somewhere atop him and supported by the back cushions. Reaching awkwardly and trying not to move her too much, Will snagged the blanket from the previous night and managed to get it more or less over Deanna. “’s that ok?”

Silence was his answer. She had fallen back to sleep as quickly as she had awakened. Almost alarmingly quickly. And it occurred him that this wasn’t keeping any kind of boundaries between them. But his thoughts were hard to hold onto right now. Because she was warm. And here. And it felt like something he imagined marriage to be. But before he could turn over that thought to examine it, the day closed in over him. And he slept.

[tkatsumi06j]

「北朝鮮は米国土に対する国家安全保障上の脅威であり続けている」と国務省・国防省・国家情報長官，異例の全上院に対する“説明会”後に共同声明を発表とCNN（2017.04.27）

（1）米国務・国防・情報トップ発表の共同声明

26日に国務長官・国防長官・国家情報長官が共同で発表した声明で米国政府は，「北朝鮮の不法な兵器開発プログラムや弾道ミサイル試験を阻止するための過去の試みは失敗に終わった」と冒頭で明言し，北朝鮮の挑発行為は「同盟国と合衆国の国土に対する脅威であり続ける」と宣言。

“Past efforts have failed to halt North Korea’s unlawful weapons programs and nuclear and ballistic missile tests. With each provocation, North Korea jeopardizes stability in Northeast Asia and poses a growing threat to our Allies and the U.S. homeland.”

声明は「北朝鮮による核兵器開発の継続は差し迫った国家安全保障上の脅威であり，外交上の最優先外交課題である」として，「経済制裁の強化と地域の同盟諸国や地域パートナーとともに外交的手段を模索する」と外交手段での事態打開を目指す姿勢を強調。

“North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is an urgent national security threat and top foreign policy priority … The President’s approach aims to pressure North Korea into dismantling its nuclear, ballistic missile, and proliferation programs by tightening economic sanctions and pursuing diplomatic measures with our Allies and regional partners.”

声明は，合衆国政府の方針は，独自の経済制裁の強化と各国と連携した外交手段を通じて，北朝鮮に「[軍事���] 緊張の緩和を促し，交渉の席に戻らせる」ことであることを明示し，最後に「合衆国は朝鮮半島の平和的な非核化を目指す」ことを強調した。

“We are engaging responsible members of the international community to increase pressure on the D.P.R.K. in order to convince the regime to de-escalate and return to the path of dialogue … The United States seeks stability and the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”

その上で声明はその文末で，「この目的のため，合衆国は交渉に応じる用意がある」としつつ，「但し，合衆国や同盟国を防衛するための用意も怠らない」と，交渉が決裂した場合の決意を露わにした。

“ We remain open to negotiations towards that goal. However, we remain prepared to defend ourselves and our Allies.”

（2）全上院説明会の”中身のない内容”

CNNによると，全上院メンバーを招いてホワイトハウスで行われた異例の説明会で語られた内容に「特段目新しい内容はなかった」というのが，参加した与野党議員たちの一致した意見だという。説明会はマコネル上院院内総務の要請にトランプ大統領が応じる形で行われた。

Nearly every US senator attended an unusual all-hands meeting on North Korea at the White House Wednesday, though afterward few said any new information emerged about the increasingly tense US standoff with Pyongyang.

ホワイトハウスのスパイサー報道官は，説明会は「マコネル上院院内総務率いる上院主導のもので，ホワイトハウスは場所を提供しただけだ」とし，「戦略を話すための会合ではない」と説明した。

“That meeting is a Senate meeting led by Leader McConnell, just utilizing our space,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said. “So that is their meeting. So we’re not there to talk strategy.”

しかし，参加した議員の中には機密性の高い議論をなぜホワイトハウスで行ったのかを疑問視する声があった。キャピトルヒル（連邦議会議事堂）には安全保障に関する機密性の高い協議を行うための特別室が常備されているからだ。

Senators are regularly briefed by the administration on national security issues, particularly those lawmakers who sit on committees with oversight of intelligence and national security agencies. But typically those briefings occur on Capitol Hill, where rooms are specially designed for that type of sensitive discussion.

独立��メイン州選出のキング議員は，「なぜ4人をこちらに呼べば済むところを，100人があちらに出向く必要があるのか理解できない」と述べ，民主党オレゴン選出のマークレイ議員は「”見せ場”にするためだ」と切り捨てた。

“I, frankly, don’t understand why it’s not easier to bring four people here than it is to take 100 there,” said Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats, on Capitol Hill Tuesday … Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Oregon Democrat … said he believed the White House’s decision to have the meeting was for “optics.”

共和党議員の中からは一部，今回の会合を評価する声も聞かれたが，いずれもまたらしい情報に接した感触は示さなかった。上院外交委員会のコーカー委員長は一言「ＯＫな説明会だった」と述べるに留まった。

“It was an OK briefing,” said Sen. Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

同軍事委員会のマケイン委員長が「[今回の説明からは] 何ら目新しい情報はなかった」とした上で，「ここに来る前から判っていたが，非常に深刻な状況にある」と述べたなか，前出の野党マークレイ議員も「新聞で読む以上の情報は語られなかった」と同様に評価した。

“I didn’t hear anything new because I have been heavily briefed before,” said Sen. John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “It’s a very serious situation, just as I had (thought) before I went there … "We learned nothing you couldn’t read in the newspaper,” Merkley said.

一方で民主党デラウェア州選出のクーンズ議員は「真摯な会合だった。合衆国の安全保障への差し迫った脅威に対するトランプ政権の計画を全上院が把握できる重要な機会ではあった」とし，「上院との詳細な協議を行う機会を持ったことは建設だった」と評価した。

“It was a sobering briefing, and an important opportunity for the entire Senate to hear the emerging plans of the Trump administration to confront what is a very real threat to our security,” said Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware … “I’m fine coming here,” he said. “Frankly if the President and his entire national security leadership team wants to provide a thorough, detailed consultation with the Senate, I think that’s constructive.”

会合を要請したマコネル院内総務のスポークスマンによれば，トランプ大統領は総務の要請に応じる形でホワイトハウスを会場とすることを自らオファーしたという。場所については「いつもの全上院会合と同じで，場所が違うだけだ」と説明した。

A spokesman for McConnell said Tuesday that Trump himself offered the White House as a venue for the briefing after McConnell requested an administration update on North Korea. “The President offered to host the meeting and the Majority Leader agreed,” said McConnell’s spokesman, David Popp … “This is just like any other all-senators briefing. Just a different location,” Popp said.

（記事及び声明の要約はここまで）

（3）米太平洋軍司令官が示した決意

要約あとがき

全上院を対象とした"中身のない"「説明会」，米軍参謀本部議長の同意を前提とする米国務省・国防省・国家情報長官による「平和的解決を目指す」共同声明。これだけでも，米国と対峙する国からすれば十分「最後通牒」に聞こえる。そして，その認識は正しい。

25日の「全上院説明会」と，27日の「国務・防衛・情報機関共同声明」の間の26日，米下院軍事委員会では太平洋軍司令官による公聴会が行われていた。この中でハリス司令官が，「先制攻撃」の可能性を示唆したと朝日は報じる。が，少なくとも，声明本文からはその事実は確認できない。原文で確認した。現時点では検証可能な事実ではないが，おそらく公聴会の質疑応答で語られた内容なのだろう。この『あとがき」では，あくまで読み上げた内容のみを検証可能な事実とする。

声明本文からは，朝日が報じるような「原子力空母カール・ヴィンソン率いる空母打撃群が沖縄東方を航行しており、北朝鮮を攻撃できる射程内に入った」という事実は確認できない。しかし公式動画で容易に確認が可能なことを朝日がわざわざ誇張することはないだろう。

声明が発表された背景とその内容を，声明本文の内容から紐解くと，こうなる。

導入部分

今回の公聴会は，ハリス太平洋軍司令官が就任してから二度目の「態勢評価報告」に位置付けられる。（p.3）

“This is my second posture assessment since taking command of U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) in 2015.”

インド洋・アジア太平洋域全域における米太平洋軍の態勢について報告するのが公聴会の趣旨だ。（p.4）

“This document is my assessment of the regional security challenges and opportunities of strategic value.”

米太平洋軍司令部（PACOM）は今年1月で創設70周年を迎え，対北朝鮮対応を含め，全軍の態勢見直しが行われている。PACOMは米国が次のグローバルな5つの課題接していると認識している。ハリス司令官は，このうちPACOMは４つの脅威（※北朝鮮・中国・ロシア・イラン）が所管のインド洋・太平洋地域に存在していると認識しているとした。（同上）

PACOMが認識するグローバルな課題

ISISの脅威

北朝鮮の脅威※

中国の脅威※

ロシアの脅威※

イランの脅威※

“Of the five global challenges that currently drive U.S. defense planning and budgeting - ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), North Korea, China, Russia and Iran - four are in the Indo-Asia-Pacific.”

ハリス司令官によると，PACOMは第二次大戦以降「グローバルな基幹システム（OS）」によりルール・ベースの国際秩序が保たれていたと認識しており，米国及び地域全体の平和と経済的繁栄を支えてきたのだという。（同上）

“Rising from the ashes of World War II, the rules-based international order, or what I sometimes call, “the Global Operating System,” has kept the Indo-Asia-Pacific largely peaceful and created the stability necessary for economic prosperity in the U.S. and countries throughout the region.”

またハリス司令官はこうした平和と繁栄の要件は，「70年に及ぶ米軍のプレゼンスと信頼ある戦闘能力」によって支えられ，この安全保障環秩序が，豪，日，韓，フィリピン，タイ5カ国との同盟関係により「強化されてきた」のだという。また，更に近年は，インド，インドネシア，マレーシア，ニュージーランド，シンガポール，スリランカ，モンゴル，ベトナムの8カ国とのパートナーシップの締結によりこの「グローバルなOS」が強化されたのだと。（同上）

“In my opinion, they have been made possible by a security order underwritten by seven decades of robust and persistent U.S. military presence and credible combat power. This security order has been reinforced by America’s five bilateral security alliances with Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Philippines, and Thailand. This order is further bolstered by our growing partnerships with India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, and Vietnam.”

この「グローバルなOS」を支えるのが，「法の支配，標準への準拠，紛争の平和的解決，民軍双方の航行の自由，海域・空域・宇宙域・サイバースペース域に対するオープンなアクセス」等の諸原則だという。(p.4）

“This Global Operating System upholds critical principles - the rule of law, adherence to standards, peaceful resolution of disputes, freedom of navigation for all civilian and military vessels and aircraft, and open access to the sea, air, space, and cyberspace domains.”

PACOMの認識では，インド洋及び太平洋は，インドの小大陸，東南アジア，オーストラリア，北東アジア，オセアニア，米領海を繋ぐ「経済的生命線」であり，物理的・心理的な障壁を取り除く「海上スーパーハイウェイ」であるという。（同上）

“The Indian and Pacific Oceans are the economic lifeblood linking the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Australia, Northeast Asia, Oceania and the U.S. Oceans that once were physical and psychological barriers that kept us apart are now maritime superhighways that bring us together.”

核心部分

声明は5ページ目から具体的な施策の説明に入り，6ページで「主要な課題」のひとつとして北朝鮮を先頭に挙げる。その冒頭で声明は北朝鮮を「インド洋・アジア太平洋における米国のもっとも差し迫った脅威」として表現。

“North Korea remains our most immediate threat in the Indo-Asia-Pacific.”

ハリス司令官はペリー前国防長官の演説を引用し「ありのままの北朝鮮」に対する対処を検討すべきだと説き，「金正恩は非核という選択肢はないと何度も主張している」と，北朝鮮との交渉の余地はないことを示唆する。（p.6）

"As former Secretary of Defense William Perry once said, we must deal with North Korea “as it is, not as we wish it to be.” Kim Jong-Un has stated repeatedly that denuclearization is not an option.”

ハリス司令官は北朝鮮の「言動と行動は，合衆国の国土並びに同盟国である韓国と日本の国土に対する脅威となっている」と説明。その上で，「それがありのままの北朝鮮である」と説く。（同上）

“The words and actions of North Korea threaten the U.S. homeland and that of our allies in South Korea and Japan. That’s North Korea as it is.

ハリス司令官はPACOMの認識として，北朝鮮は「4月の更なる弾道ミサイル発射により，自国の主張する目標の達成に近づいている」とし，こう述べる。

"But an aggressive weapons test schedule, as demonstrated by yet another ballistic missile launch this April, moves North Korea closer to its stated goals.”

「軍司令官として小官は，金正恩の主張を事実として受け止めなければならない。少なくとも，彼の野心はそうである」と。（同上）

“As a military commander, I must assume that Kim Jong-Un’s claims are true - his aspirations certainly are.”

その上でハリス司令官は「米太平洋軍は今夜にでも戦闘できるよう備えなければならない」と，一部朝日新聞の記事と同じ内容を述べ，「米本土と同盟国を防衛するため、あらゆる可能な手段を検討しなければならない」と軍の決意を示す。（p.6）

“USPACOM must be prepared to fight tonight, so I take him at his word. That means we must consider every possible step to defend the U.S. Homeland and our allies.”

「であるからこそ，米韓連合軍はTHAADを韓国に可及的速やかに配備する決定を下した」のであり，「北朝鮮の主要な同盟国である中国に相当な影響力を行使して」北朝鮮の核兵器・弾道ミサイル実験を停止するよう要請しているのだという。（p.6）

“That’s why the ROK-U.S. alliance has decided to deploy THAAD - the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system - in South Korea as soon as possible. That’s why the United States continues to call on China - North Korea’s principal ally - to exert its considerable influence to stop Pyongyang’s unprecedented campaign of nuclear weapons ballistic missile tests.”

PACOMは，北朝鮮はこれまでに蓄積した実績への自信から，今後も引き続き「無謀で危うい道」を歩み続けると断定し，何度も失敗を繰り返しつつも，「いずれは成功するだろう」とそのリスクを評価するし，最終的にはICBMの発射を試すだろうとする。（p.6-7）

“North Korea vigorously pursued a strategic strike capability in 2016. We assess that the progress made in several areas will encourage Kim Jong-Un to continue down this reckless and dangerous path … Just as Thomas Edison is believed to have failed 1000 times before successfully inventing the electric light bulb, so too, Kim Jong-Un will keep trying. One of these days soon, he will succeed … Those successes advance North Korea’s technical and operational base and allow continued development. Aggressive rhetoric since the New Year strongly suggests North Korea will not only continue to test these proscribed systems, but is also likely to attempt a first launch of a similarly prohibited intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). ”

ハリス司令官は北朝鮮のICBM（大陸間弾道ミサイル）の運搬能力については，「戦略核を運用する能力は合衆国にとって"実存的な脅威"には至っていない」としつつ，「これを黙認し続ければレトリックに見合う能力が備わるだろう」とし，「北朝鮮の現存の能力だけでも，地域同盟国や西太平洋に配備された9万人の米軍将兵への重大な脅威となっている」とする。（p.7）

“Kim’s strategic capabilities are not yet an existential threat to the U.S., but if left unchecked, he will gain the capability to match his rhetoric.”

北朝鮮の軍事力の評価については，その通常兵力は世界で4番目の規模で，設備や訓練状況に問題はあるものの，38度線沿いの米韓連合軍を標的に定めた大量の長距離ロケット，砲弾，短距離弾道ミサイル，拡大する化学兵器備蓄については「真摯に捉える必要がある」と忠告。（p.7）

“North Korea fields the fourth largest conventional military in the world. Despite a number of noteworthy shortfalls in training and equipment, we must take seriously the substantial inventory of long-range rockets, artillery, close-range ballistic missiles, and expansive chemical weaponry aimed across the Demilitarized Zone at the Republic of Korea and U.S. forces stationed there.”

最後に声明は，北朝鮮の脅威に対峙するに当たって，必要なのは「官民両方における強固な決意である」としつつ，その目的は「金正恩を屈服させるためではなく，正気を取り戻させるためだ」と結ぶ。（p.7）

“In confronting the North Korean threat, it is critical that the U.S. be guided by a strong sense of resolve both publicly and privately in order to bring Kim Jong-Un to his senses, not his knees.”

あとがき

この軍のゆるぎない決意と態勢を示した報告書が読み上げられた当日に，ホワイトハウスでは全上院対象の「説明会」が行われ，翌日には国務・国防・情報のトップによる共同声明が発表された。

これだけの動きを受けて米国が「本気でない」と思うのはよほどの楽観主義者だ。

シリアへの大統領単独の決定に基づく攻撃とは異なり，対北朝鮮政策は行政・立法・国務・五軍・情報機関全てが「武力行使を辞さない」姿勢にあることがこれ以上にないほど明確になった。

一連の動きが意味することは，「合衆国の総意としての最後通牒」だ。外交��渉に応じる道は残してある。しかし，この善意のオファーを蹴るのであれば合衆国の脅威として叩き潰す決意があることの表明だ。

声明本文では，朝日が報じるような空母打撃群の展開状況や「先制攻撃」のオプションを残していることには言及していない。米朝・米中戦争に至ってもそれは「制御可能なリスクである」と明言しているのは，中国に対する最終忠告でもある。

全上院「説明会」の内容について参加した議員は口々に「目新しいことは何もなかった」と発言しているがこの言葉は額面通りには受け止められない。議会ではなくホワイトハウスで行われたのは，やはりセキュリティ上の懸念があるからだろう。つまり議会に北朝鮮の工作員が潜入していることへの配慮が働いていると見られる。「説明会」で語られたことは事実上の機密事項で，その中には戦術核の使用も含めた攻撃オプションが明かされた可能性がある。事実下院ではその議論が行われていた。

今回の「招集」で各議員はトランプ政権の北への姿勢が「本気」であることを知り，国家総出でこれを支持するための共同戦線を図ることが事実上合意されたのだと見る。その上で国務・国防・情報の三者共同の声明が出された。この上で仮に，上下両院またはいずれかからトランプ政権の北朝鮮攻撃を支持する決議などが採択されれば，それこそハリス司令官のいう「官民両方の強固な決意」が固まったことの表れとなり，北朝鮮に対する“最後の圧力”となるだろう。

同盟国の日本は米軍の総合的な攻撃オプションの一つである原子力空母カール・ヴィンソン率いる第一空母打撃群の一員として海自護衛艦体を展開させることで，米国と決意をともにすることを形にした。在韓米軍と韓国軍の連合軍は，民間の反対を無視してTHAADを実質配備し臨戦態勢を整えた。戦争準備という意味では，米韓日の臨戦態勢は万全という状態になっている。

この極限の緊張の中で，北朝鮮が実質折れるようなことがあれば，そこから六か国協議を含めた多国間対話への道が開く。ただしもしこの圧力が逆効果となったら，凄惨な戦闘の末，北朝鮮という国家が消滅するかもしれない。

そして私たち現代日本人は，この戦争の「紛争当事者」である。本当に戦争が間近であるからこそ，冷静な判断，行動と言動が求められる。私たちひとりひとりにそれができるか。この重大な局面で私たちの民度が試されている。