News North Korea Renounces Truce-U.S. Military on High Alert

Discussion in 'Free Speech Alley' started by Cajun Sensation, May 28, 2009.

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  1. LaSalleAve

    LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

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    Ooooh the internet tough guy has spoken. :lol:
     
    LaSalleAve, May 29, 2009
    #31
  2. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    There are too many variables to make an accurate prediction. The leadership in NK is so isolated from the outside world and from reality that they are unpredictable. When the midget dies, all bets are off.

    China is the wild card. Many things are possible with China's cooperation. It is heartening that North Koreans appear to be pissing off the Chinese at last. On the other hand, the Israelis piss us off all the time and we still support them.
     
    red55, May 29, 2009
    #32
  3. lsu-i-like

    lsu-i-like Playoff advocate

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    Is North Korea more of a threat to the US than to China / Russia / Japan / South Korea? Are we treating Japan and South Korea as USA - Rising Sun Branch?
     
    lsu-i-like, May 29, 2009
    #33
  4. uscvball

    uscvball Founding Member

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    Game changer.

     
    uscvball, May 30, 2009
    #34
  5. Bengal Buddy

    Bengal Buddy Founding Member

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    The U.S. is a signatary of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and is allied with South Korea and Japan. That gives us the right to deny UK nuclear weapons in addition to giving us a big stake in what happens in that part of the world. Saying we should not get involved unless we are directly attacked is just sticking your head in the sand. The United States is the only superpower left in the world and the leader of the free world. To say we have no stake in what goes on there or we don't want to get involved is ignoring the obvious. The world looks to our leadership and we have to provide it.

    The UN will not take any military action unless UK invades SK again, which is not likely to happen. It may very well place severe sanctions against NK, and that is what it should do. Kim Jong-il is under the mistaken impression that his tiny nuclear arsenal now puts him on an equal footing with the major nuclear powers. It does not. Nuclear weapons are really self-limiting. Okay, he has one or two nuclear weapons, but he dare not use them against anyone because that would be the end of his regime if he did. Having nuclear weapons is a bit like having a howitzer in your house for protection; very impressive but practically speaking what can you do with it? The big threat with NK having a nuclear capability is the possibility he may sell nuclear materials to non-governmental groups (i..e. Al Qaida) that may be willing to use it. This unquestionably give the United States a huge stake in North Korea's decision to develop nuclear capability. In my opinion Clinton should have taken out NK's nuclear installations when he had the chance as he said he would do. But he never followed up on it. Ditto for the elder President Bush. No one did anything for fear of reprocussions. Well, the reprocussions of not doing anything may be greater - as usual.
     
    Bengal Buddy, May 30, 2009
    #35
  6. PURPLE TIGER

    PURPLE TIGER HOPE is not a strategy!

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    Exactly...that's why I stated THIS Congress? This is arguably the worst Congrees we've had in the history of our nation. Regardless of party, can we expect this group to make "smart" decisions? They haven't made many thus far and have horrible leadership.

    Will we even have available aircraft for the military or will they be too busy taking politicians on vacations?
     
    PURPLE TIGER, May 30, 2009
    #36
  7. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    Mostly to South Korea and Japan as far as military threats. Of course we have many bases and troops in both places.

    It's all about influence to Russia. Their Pacific ports are lousy military bases opening into constricted, shallow water and straits belonging to Japan and North Korea. They need to maintain dominating influence with North Korean for free access across NK territorial waters. They would not like to see South Korea owning these waters . . . or China either, for that matter. Status Quo is what the Russians want.

    China is concerned with influence as well, but with less geopolitical necessity. They are also concerned about a flood of North Korean Refugees that they would have to take care of. Of course they are taking care of many of them already and may be getting tired of it. South Korea has a powerful economy of its own and is less like a US puppet to China these days. As South Korea and China continue to improve relations, China may have less of an incentive to oppose a Unified Korea on the economic and political model of the South.

    North Korea has no direct threat to the US. They can hit our bases in ROK, Okinawa and Japan conventionally, but it is unlikely that they have yet weaponized a nuclear device to fit on the fairly puny missiles that they have. They also don't have all that many of them, a prime consideration if you pick a fight with a Superpower.

    They have a rocket cobbled together with multiple stages from other rockets that will lob a leeeetle bitty payload over intercontinental ranges. It could hit Alaska and probably is not accurate enough to hit a particular city. Neither are they likely to have a nuclear device light enough for it yet.

    More like the 51st and 52nd states. An attack on either one would bring on a US military response guaranteed. They might as well hit Alaska as hit Japan or South Korea.
     
    red55, May 31, 2009
    #37
  8. HectorSpectre

    HectorSpectre Founding Member

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    From somewhere in near-earth orbit, shoot a laser-guided 1/10th KT mushroomer up The Great Leader Jr.'s azz while he's asleep ... "K-bye!"

    At some point even this administration will come to grips with the fact that all these rouge-nation dictators are in an alliance of convenience meant only to do us irreparable harm.

    Cue Curtis Lemay.
     
    HectorSpectre, May 31, 2009
    #38
  9. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    What harm? North Korea really can't hurt us . . . China can. That's the kind of impetuous shoot-first-and-think-later non-plan that got us mired in Iraq. Childish fantasies like nuking Korea out of the blue are absurd.

    This has to be handled skillfully because of China. They are in a tough place. If they pressure North Korea and fail then they have lost their leverage, and success is not at all certain dealing with the irrational Kim. If they pressure North Korea and succeed, it will likely cause a collapse in North Korea right on China's border and a long-time US ally as across-border neighbor in a unified Korea.

    But, the US and China do have many mutual interests in keeping peace in northeast Asia and we have to nudge them into seeing where their best interests lie. The present situation is simply untenable. If North Korea is allowed to establish a real nuclear attack capability, there will be no stopping South Korea and Japan from following suit. China doesn't want to go anywhere near that scenario. Neither do the US and Russia. One way or another, it ain't going to happen. There are lots of better ways to engineer the end of North Korea nuclear ambitions than starting World War III.
     
    red55, May 31, 2009
    #39
  10. HectorSpectre

    HectorSpectre Founding Member

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    Hahahaha. "Red" is right.

    Naivet'e in the extreme. "They just want to be our friends." Hahahaha.

    Shoot first, ask questions later.

    They've had 50 bloody years to make the peace. They've kidnapped and murdered innocents abroad, chopped-up our boys on the DMZ with axes and seized US Naval vessels in international waters. They've repeatedly threatened both us and our allies, they are in pell-mell pursuit of nukes, they've repeatedly broken every conceivable UN demand that they desist their jingoistic behaviors and now they've withdrawn from the Korean War ceasefire without any provocation from us whatsoever.

    Nail the bastards before they kill millions who, for a change, aren't their own citizens.

    If we don't do it now, the blood of those lying dead all over Asia and elsewhere, will be on the hands of people like you.

    You can't reason with people like these. They are a morally corrupt regime that is exploiting it's own people and the good will of free nations to an extreme not seen since Stalin.

    No! They do NOT want to reason with us and they do not want to be our friends ... they want to KILL us.

    Nuke 'em!
     
    HectorSpectre, May 31, 2009
    #40
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