Soon after North Korea tested its sixth and largest nuclear bomb on September 3, President Trump’s response to a reporter who asked him about whether he planned to attack North Korea was short and somewhat vague. “We’ll see,” replied the president.

After that encounter, the president met at the White House with Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and other national security officials. Following that meeting, Mattis was more forthcoming than Trump had been, warning: “Any threat to the United States or its territories, including Guam, or our allies will be met with a massive military response — a response both effective and overwhelming.”

“We have many military options,” Mattis told reporters outside the White House,…