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Originally posted by cautiouslypessimistic
I will never understand the "we get em, you don't, we can use em, you can't" logic. Seems very arrogant to me.
Originally posted by Schaden
I only advocated a first strike in the event of a massive land invasion. We're bound by treaty to defend South Korea, however I believe the pentagon would sooner resort to tactical nukes than lose tens of thousands perhaps hundreds of thousands in a grueling useless land war. Of course this president wouldn't authorize it.
I don't know if air power alone could defend them.
A few dozen low yield warheads would sufficiently break their will. Destroy all retaliatory nuclear weapons and infrastructure in a first strike, and lay down a row of impacts evenly spaced across the border, creating a wasteland and breaking their lines.
The US never takes anything off the table including nuclear weapons. It's a war N. Korea can't win, because I believe the US would go nuclear against them rather than lose S. Korea. Like I said, I believe DPRK knows this. The chance of a full scale invasion is slim.
[edit on 30-5-2009 by Schaden]
Originally posted by bpg131313
The Korean War is back on. The Armistice was only a "delay of game". As of the 26th of May, the United States is once again legally at war with North Korea.
Originally posted by bpg131313
It’s good to hear from you. Let’s dive into what was said.
You made good observations regarding Japan. Having several Japanese friends myself, I often times get emails from them telling me what they are hearing around Japan. When it comes to the affairs of Japan, we have been involved ever since General Douglas MacArthur had his hands in the Occupation of Japan. You may remember from history class that he also led the UN forces against North Korea in 1950-1951. Japan has had us protecting them since then.
It’s a routine I suppose you can say. We also owe them a lot of money, so perhaps this is their way of using our debt to them as leverage. I know Japan could put together a top-notch nuclear program if they wanted to.
Japan already has extensive PATRIOT systems brought in by the US. The odds of an incoming missile getting through are low. The problem today is the pace at which things can escalate. A large scale missile barrage could occur over the course of two hours. That’s all they need...two hours! Things can get to be looking similar to your avatar in that very brief amount of time.
South Korea is in the same boat as I just discussed. We’re not talking days. We’re talking immediate. When I was there I was told that five minutes is all the time we have from launch to impact. Five minutes!
I’m sure that other countries would protest a military action, but those are simply words, nothing more. The North Koreans could be in Seoul within two hours if they took their time. I know that South Korea is very heavily armored. I know it would be one hell of a fight, but it would be a quick one. It would go something like this. You go to bed at midnight and see that nothing is happened. You wake up at 5 a.m. the next morning and all you see on the news is that 45 Million are reportedly dead in Korea and that counter attacks are ongoing.
War these days is far faster than even it was during the Gulf Wars to the point it literally is unnerving. We are there as a deterrent only. North Korea knows we have extensive reach back capability.
I fear that Ki Jong-Il no longer cares. I don’t know why American’s are still in South Korea. I honestly don’t. To be honest, I think it’s a legacy thing. Sadly, it isn’t our call, it’s the President’s.
Your comment regarding the USSR, or Communists as you called them, was rather interesting. There was a point, as Senator McCarthy can attest to, when Communism was extremely feared. Proliferation of the Communist Ideology throughout Asia was a very scary thing back then.
We look at it today and basically shrug our shoulders and wonder what all the fuss was about, but back then, it was a very serious matter. We were in Korea because we didn’t want the “Communists” to take over all of Korea, especially with those Chinese folks eyeballing Korea so closely.
The aircraft carrier named Taiwan made me laugh. Thanks for that, I needed it. Once again, I think it all comes down to ideology. We keep Taiwan as Capitalistic as possible hoping that China will have it rub off on them, and it does actually appear to be working to some extent.
When it comes to why South Korea and Japan feel threatened, I think it’s because of the unpredictable nature of Kim Jong-Il. He’s demonstrated the capability of nukes and they fear it’s not in order to keep them locked away in a bunker somewhere. They fear it’s for use against them.
Now to turn to the Devil’s Advocate (something I particularly enjoy). If I were Kim Jong-Il and knew I was standing next to my death bed, though not necessarily in it, I’ll tell you what I’d do. I’d take the next nuke I build, put it in the best ICBM I have for satellite launch. I’d put it on a course to fly over the US, I’d get that thing upwards of 200 miles above Denver and I’d detonate the thing. An EMP would flash all of the US (And parts of Mexico and Canada), effectively sending the US back to the days before electricity for at least a couple years. Sure, I’d be blown up for it, but you have to admit, from a Devil’s Advocate point of view, it does put a smile on your face.