The tense stand off between the US and North Korea continues to escalate, after Donald Trump gave a dire warning to Kim Jong-il in response to his threats to attack Guam. "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen", Trump thundered angrily. It was a strangely poetic turn of phrase for the ineloquent POTUS with the vocabulary of an 11 year-old, whose most frequently-used words include 'stupid', 'bad' and 'moron'.
How then, I wondered, did Trump come up with the evocative and memorable "Fire and Fury"? A quick google reveals it to be the title of a book of American Civil War games, played by enthusiasts with miniature soldiers. Written by Rich Hasenauer, the Regimental Fire and Fury rulebook is perfect for a novice like 'draft-dodger' Trump, who had no military experience before he became US Commander in Chief.
Luckily for Donald, Fire and Fury is "an easy game to learn and enjoy" and using military miniatures allows players to "recreate the small engagements and portions of larger battles". Is this how Trump's military tactics are planned out? Picture the scene: it's 3am, and Trump is in the Oval Office in his dressing gown, with a miniature battle scene laid out on his desk. "Now hold on General Mattis. If you just pick up that little guy there and move him closer to the nuclear button, we'll fix that darned Korean varmint for good!".
If Trump is purloining his battle tactics from Regimental Fire and Fury, it should be pretty easy for Kim Jong-il to figure out his next move. How this conflict ends though, could depend on the other titles in the Oval Office library. Although it's rumoured that Trump can't read, he often namechecks All Quiet on the Western Front. Will his war of words with Kim result in War and Peace? Or even A Farewell To Arms?
It's my guess the President will turn to his own books instead. In other words, it's Time To Get Tough, Think Big and Kick Ass to get The America We Deserve.
Regimental Fire and Fury by Rich Hasenauer is available here.