War, or even the threat of it, is no joke but such is the crazy posturing and rhetoric coming out of North Korea at present that I am reminded of the time a couple of the lads in the Comeraghs got drunk and declared war on the late Saddam Hussein of Iraq. With the drink flowing freely, the lads were on the telephone in the snug informing Saddam that they didn’t like the look of him, especially his ‘big, hairy moustache’, and that was enough for them to declare war on him and his regime.
Somewhere in the madness, the telephone call from Ireland was put through to Saddam in his presidential palace and, instead of hanging up, he engaged the lads in conversation. “We’re a crowd of mad feckers so you better watch out,” they threatened. Saddam loved it. These guys talked his language. He let them ramble on with insult after insult for a while then he struck back. “Can you tell me the size of your army, your airforce and your navy,” he asked.