Former deputy commander of U.S. Forces in Korea says "US could lose"

a reply to: seagull

A truly terrible yet truly complete victory.

originally posted by: wantsome
Former deputy commander of U.S. Forces in Korea says US could lose in Korea. A lot of people seem to think a war with NK would be a cakewalk. I see a lot of comparisons to the Iraq war. Bush 1 was warned not to remove Saddam during the first gulf war. Bush 2 went ahead and did it anyway creating a power vacuum and a quagmire that we're still caught up in to this day. Here we are and people are pushing for another war.

NK has a 1.2 million man army and any buildup of forces on the peninsula will be seen as an act of aggression causing NK to attack before full resources are in place. Unlike Iraq we won't have a chance to build forces up for an invasion. I don't think China is going to sit idle and let NK fall to the US without intervening. The last thing they want is a unified Korea backed by America on their border.

Millions dead to the cost of trillions to the American tax payer. And we complain about feeding the poor in this country to the cost of pennies in comparison to what we spend on war.

You can blame this foreign policy nightmare on Obama Bush Clinton Reagan who ever. This is 75 years of failed foreign policy biting us in the ass. This is what we get for being the world police since WW2. I hope you have your draft cards filled out kiddies because this has the probability of getting out of control. Especially when we're talking about nuclear weapons.

www.yahoo.com...

I believe China does want a unified independant Korea as a bigger more stable buffer zone.....one which can soon be westernised and then used to slowly transition China forward keeping it up with global progress and evolution.....IMHO China and the USA will use Hammer & Anvil action and will together help support a completely independant Korea.

originally posted by: Spacespider
NK could be wiped out with the turn of a switch..
I think there is a reason that guy is a "former" commander..
Perhaps in a time with cavalry and catapults.

Due to this over confident statement, I must say, you sir are an idiot.....
2

originally posted by: neo96
a reply to: DerBeobachter

The US spends hundreds of billions of dollars on wars and sends thousands of soldiers around the world to fight in them, but it seems unable to translate all that might into anything that could be called victory.

That's because our military is ran by a bunch of worthless people called politicians.

No one living has seen what our military can actually do.

Someone takes their leash off?

Hell would be unleashed.

Hmm, it is also the politicians starting the wars so there would be no need to unleash anything.
Why should we care about the welfare of South Korea when people frown on welfare for people in our own country?

We should remove our bases from around the world and let the chips fall where they may.
Global Corporations will cease to exist and their gravy train ride will be over.

a reply to: jacobe001

No, they would just be controlled by China.

originally posted by: DerBeobachter
Why Does America Keep Losing Wars?

The US spends hundreds of billions of dollars on wars and sends thousands of soldiers around the world to fight in them, but it seems unable to translate all that might into anything that could be called victory.

How many German bases are in the United States?

originally posted by: JBurns
a reply to: wantsome


One single Ohio class boomer boat (nuclear submarine) can level every city/installation in the country. No one will lose to NK.

Their WMD/artillery would be destructive, but don't kid yourself here, NK isn't a world class power or threat. They can cause damage, but that is it. We can totally annihilate every square inch of their country if needed. And we rightfully would do just that to maintain total US superiority over NK.

Besides, by the time those brainwashed socialists/communists reach South Korea, they'll realize everything they've been told about Western civilization was a communist lie to keep them down/brainwashed (I'm sorry, to keep them "equal" - equally poor and downtrodden that is). Realizing everything you've ever been told is a lie will break even the most ideologically fanatical forces. Lets also not ignore the fact that their communist dictatorship considers 25% of their population to be "hostile."

President Trump isn't a white glove kind of guy. If the situation calls for it, North Korea will face fire and fury like the world has never seen before (his own words). Don't doubt the President's resolve or intent - he will disarm NK of all weapons of mass destruction and rid the people of the Kim cult-dictatorship.

All we need is to remember is "love is all we need"

a reply to: Ind0Igo

When armed soldiers storm your house let them know you are protected by love.

a reply to: 200Plus

Technically, three.

If there is a hot war in SE Asia, even a limited one, the US will lose all of its political goals, however it turns out.

All the host countries will rightly blame the US for being careless and causing millions of deaths. They will say that westerners don't care about Asian lives. At the end, host countries will demand that the US leave and China will be the regional hegemon for a century or more i.e. indefinitely.

originally posted by: Br34kingp01nt

originally posted by: Spacespider
NK could be wiped out with the turn of a switch..
I think there is a reason that guy is a "former" commander..
Perhaps in a time with cavalry and catapults.

It's not as simple as turning switches and wiping out NK. There are tens of millions of people being held hostage by that regime. They don't deserve to be wiped out. They deserve to be free.

To say nothing of the countless hundreds of thousands of South Koreans who will suffer.

The only realistic option is that the people of NK take out their government in a revolution.

That said if they fire a missile at the US, Europe or anyone else for that matter all bets should be off.

You think the people of NK would have a better chance without weapons, without a military, without an airforce or navy?

It would be a bloodbath... even MORE people would die than a strategic strike.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Which?

Or is it technically like Fort Hood is a Canadian base?

You've peaked my curiosity.

originally posted by: wantsome

originally posted by: PorteurDeMort

originally posted by: OccamsRazor04
a reply to: DerBeobachter

When was the last time the US military was taken off it's leash?

World War 2

Yeah is that why NK was divided and no peace treaty was ever signed? Or what about the 60,000 troops we lost in Vietnam? I guess we didn't try enough then either right?

You're actually correct, albeit sarcastic as hell. Yes, when we let loose our nuclear arsenal again, then and only then will we be off the leash.

a reply to: 200Plus

They have facilities that are technically German territory under the agreements they signed. There's a cargo transfer facility at Dulles, a Tornado training school that's about to close at Holloman, and a navigator training facility at Pensacola.

It's actually similar to our agreements with foreign bases. The bases are still US bases, but the area that they use is considered German. The Dulles facility is a good example. They can fly in cargo to there, and if the aircraft is turning around and going back out of the US, then only the cargo staying in the US is required to go through Customs inspection.

Under our agreements with the UK, for example, the RAF retains ownership of the base, and there's an RAF base commander, but it's home of US units and the US has there personnel in all the shops, etc.

a reply to: OccamsRazor04

Wars are supposed to be terrible. Lest we, as Robt. E. Lee once said, grow too fond of them.

But, that obviously isn't true. We are overly fond of them, it would seem. If that weren't so, WWI and all it's horrors would have seen the end of it. It was, after all, the War to end all Wars. Until the next one came along, the one that introduced the Holocaust to our lexicon, and Atomic Warfare to our list of nightmares. Now they're fought with smart bombs, laser guided munitions, pilotless drones...all neat and tidy.

...and the media edits it for our ten second sound bites and even shorter attention spans.

Edit out the blood and gore, so as not to upset us at our breakfast or dinner.

Having read the article here is what could be said:

Any new war in Korea would cause a lot of problems for the west and the USA could lose, and here is how that conclusion was come up to.

Cults, everyone has heard of them and yet very few often understand the depths of such. They are dangerous, where the majority of the people in said cult often lead to believe and do believe the leader is always right. And there you have the problem with North Korea. The majority of the population, those that do not speak, believe in the leader, he is treated like a god, and they are not going to merely turn on him. A few break the programing, or those who would dare speak out are often eliminated, their families removed from society, as a message to the rest.
The leader of North Korea, has complete and absolute control over the entire country, backed up by the military. The military leaders, often get large rewards, and it is within their interest to keep that person safe, as he knows where all of the resources are. So it becomes a very viscous circle that breaking will have to come from within, and cannot come from without. The population is conditioned to accept what the state says as the truth, all others opinions are often considered false. You can see this now in the United States, when it comes to say the Trump supporters, and when asked about one of his indiscretions, he is often forgiven or the claim is that it is fake and made up.

Combined with the mentality that most in Asia has, when it comes to waging war, along with its allies, both diplomatic and military, and the current way it has been treated, and in short, it would be a war that the USA would have a hard time winning. In short North Korea, has nothing to lose if a war was started and has everything to gain.

The wild card in this would be China. China is the sleeping tiger, to the north of Korea. It has strategic interest in the Korean peninsula. When the Korean conflict was in full swing, the North was about to win the conflict, until an offensive forced them back, past the original partition of the country. The UN forces, led by the USA kept pushing and pushing the North Korean forces north, and China issued one warning, do not get with a certain distance of the river that separates Korea and China. The commanding general at the time ignored the warning as did many politicians and China came in with its full force on to the side of North Korea. And the rest is history.

The problems with war in Korea, is that North Korea has a large force that is there. They are armed to the teeth and are always ready and in a state to indicate it is ready for war. The USA does not have the man power to go it alone, and other countries are not so anxious to go right into a shooting conflict.

And the use of nuclear weapons is carefully governed, and watched by the world. Which ever country that launches a nuclear weapon first would be condemned and ultimately would bring the rest of the world in against them. So while it may be appealing to use one in North Korea, however, the response is not one the USA could handle, for then it would open the door up to retaliation by both North Korea and or the Chinese in the process. And that is not including the response from North Korea’s allies either. There are a few allies around the world that would love to get involved in this and could cause far more problems for the USA as well, some not so good.

originally posted by: wantsome
Former deputy commander of U.S. Forces in Korea says US could lose in Korea. A lot of people seem to think a war with NK would be a cakewalk. I see a lot of comparisons to the Iraq war. Bush 1 was warned not to remove Saddam during the first gulf war. Bush 2 went ahead and did it anyway creating a power vacuum and a quagmire that we're still caught up in to this day. Here we are and people are pushing for another war.

NK has a 1.2 million man army and any buildup of forces on the peninsula will be seen as an act of aggression causing NK to attack before full resources are in place. Unlike Iraq we won't have a chance to build forces up for an invasion. I don't think China is going to sit idle and let NK fall to the US without intervening. The last thing they want is a unified Korea backed by America on their border.


www.yahoo.com...

Bushes lost because they fking lied about WMD which pissed off everyone. NK on the hand is making WMD for real. They didn't even get real proof out of Iraqi war. On the other hand NK has way more troops than Saddam will ever have and much better technology. Saddam was a joke weak to no navy, terrible Soviet copied tanks and weak airforce.

How did North Korea obtain Uranium?

Who really controls North Korea?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Thanks for the expertise. It looks like North Korea has one of the densest air defenses in the world. I think I meant to say anti aircraft missile systems.

This website goes in detail about their air defenses.

North Korea’s Air Defenses

As I understand it, NK not only has artillery, rockets, and missiles pointed at the Seoul area; but they also have tunnels that potentially lead several miles passed the DMZ. And they have multiple exits that make them resistant to attack.

So, not only would SK face bombardment from NK munitions, there is the real possibility of an invasion from NK troops. Once they establish a beachhead, it will take significant urban warfare to dislodge them.

And beheading the NK regime may not be an option. Because the officers in positions along the DMZ have orders to attack once Pyongyang goes dark.

Add given the nuclear, biological, and chemical capabilities of NK; you're looking at millions dead in South Korea, and tens of millions more SK refugees fleeing to the South end of the Peninsula. I wonder if anyone has taken into account the multi-billion dollar humanitarian effort that will be required to handle that phase of the war.

There are no good answers to this situation. But don't discount the massive damage that NK can inflict before it is finally subdued. If that is even possible.

-dex