US ready for ‘conventional’ war with N. Korea

Originally posted by mr-lizard

Originally posted by eniac

Meanwhile left-wing pussies whinge about deaths moreso when kids die for f***-all. In WW2 there was a point to it all. Anyway, I doubt that General dude was talking about sending in the boys on horseback with swords, or trench warfare, or whatever your gung-ho, glorious vision of conventional warfare is.

You talk like a ten year old. So how on earth have you the right to accuse anybody of any political leaning of anything, let alone 'being a pussies'.

Maybe it's just a little thing called a conscience.

...ok- try READING the post next time.

Its not inconceivable to see that the U.S. Army is capable of fighting a conventional war with North Korea.

First off, you forget its a joint effort. This is not 1989, it is 2009. The U.S. is not shouldering the heaviest load any longer, as the ROK military has become one of the largest and best-equipped/trained in the world. It has mobilization capabilities rivaling that of Israel and we cannot forget American ground forces in Korea have been upgraded significantly since the tough days of the Cold War.

Originally posted by Paveway27
You couldnt be more correct Sir. I'm in the miltary right now, Japan to be exact, from what I see on a day to day basis, not much is going on here with the miltary besides our daily duties. No one is freaking out about N.Korea, its just a stunt they pull just about every year to show the world they are still here being a thorn in our side. As for a conventional war, its not going to happen, we learned that tactic doesnt work. Its all about taking out targets from Miles and Miles away. We cant afford to lose troops to a Byonett charge like the used to do. We stand back and fire missles and take out the things that are going to cause the most problems. Its pointless to send people into a meat grinder. WE know this, but they know it to, a War with todays weapons is going to be a HUGE MESS, for both countries.

I know you said you're in the military, but your assessment is wrong on a couple of fronts. You seem to have based some of your statements on our experience in the Persian Gulf. However, the Gulf and the Korean Peninsula are two very different theaters of conflict. When you factor in geography and the high density of Korea, a meat grinder is almost inevitable. Will we have industrial-era bayonet charges, absolutely not. But a war with the DPRK will be some of the most close-quarters combat in the open we will have seen in a long time.

reply to post by SevenThunders

If the US is smart it will develop strategic economic inducements to court Russia and China in the event something does blow open and I doubt it will at this time, but am sure it will in the next few years. Moscow could swing either way, too many American/Western investments in Moscow to lose, too many lives, valuable territory and an economic complex to lost if that whole region busts open. Especially since they have their own issues with Muslim terrorism and regional conflicts in Russia and the former Soviet states which is smoldering, one declared war in that region may light the area up like New Years since there are so many complex religious and cultural ties between a lot of the minority ethnicities, Asia and the Middle East. The last thing they can afford is for Kazahkstan (which houses their nuclear and space complexes), Mongolia or other Asiatic border nations with oil pipelines to supersede economic ties with an NK-sympathetic Chinese alliance.

China and its allies own so much American land, farmland and economic assets in this country that if war was declared they could shut us down overnight with a few strokes of a pen as a prudent measure to keep NK from pouring over the border. They already have serious economic and and diplomatic issues with NK over the refugee situation since there are supposedly more North Koreans in Eastern China now than in NK, do you really think they want to blow the border open? Not sure how reliable this is but in 2007 a report I read in a paper claimed that something like 2 million a year were coming across the border, many dying in the process. Those countries also have long traditions of political kidnapping, torture and other acts of war that do not figure into the west's gameplan, and I have no doubt the two countries revert to old grudges in a heartbeat.

Somehow I think China will keep us from going in on this, which may be the final push it needs to overtake the US as the dominant superpower unless we have a "trigger."