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NK lit off its first nuke during GWB's tenure, I guess you'd rather just whine about Obama though.
He named them as members of the "Axis of Evil" right after 9/11...then literally did nothing. The early/mid 00's was the time to strike. The people were still starving from famine and they didn't have the bomb yet. If I have to lay fault at the feet of one President, it would be Bush, followed very closely by Clinton. Obama had no options. After the 2006 test, the ball game was over.
I think the U.S. is in a tough spot here. Nobody, no matter what people think, wants a war, especially one with nukes or H-bombs being flung around the planet. The thing is, if we let the little gnat in North Korea launch the first missile that kills thousands or million of people, is that really the better option?
North Korea HAS to know that if they start something there will be a retaliation. Period. They can't possibly think that lobbing bombs at other countries would have a good outcome for them. They would be totally annihilated, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, and maybe the little twerp doesn't care as long as he gets to put the hurt on someone else first.
I do think the U.S. has been patient up to this point, and I don't know what the solution is. The U.S. is damned if we do, and damned if we don't, we will get criticized no matter what we do.
I think the U.S. is in a tough spot here. Nobody, no matter what people think, wants a war, especially one with nukes or H-bombs being flung around the planet. The thing is, if we let the little gnat in North Korea launch the first missile that kills thousands or million of people, is that really the better option?
North Korea HAS to know that if they start something there will be a retaliation. Period. They can't possibly think that lobbing bombs at other countries would have a good outcome for them. They would be totally annihilated, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, and maybe the little twerp doesn't care as long as he gets to put the hurt on someone else first.
I do think the U.S. has been patient up to this point, and I don't know what the solution is. The U.S. is damned if we do, and damned if we don't, we will get criticized no matter what we do.
So why are you worried that they will? NK's bomb dreams are defensive. The US has 7000 plus nukes and a military apparatus the likes of which has never been seen on earth. Yet, our politicians and our generals want US to be afraid. This is all bullscat people. NK is not a threat to the US. We need to make peace with them and give them at least some assurance we are not about to do an "Iraq" on their country and the nuclear brinksmanship can end. It's like Bannon says. Live with it. Make a deal, Mr Dealmaker.
I think the U.S. is in a tough spot here. Nobody, no matter what people think, wants a war, especially one with nukes or H-bombs being flung around the planet. The thing is, if we let the little gnat in North Korea launch the first missile that kills thousands or million of people, is that really the better option?
North Korea HAS to know that if they start something there will be a retaliation. Period. They can't possibly think that lobbing bombs at other countries would have a good outcome for them. They would be totally annihilated, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, and maybe the little twerp doesn't care as long as he gets to put the hurt on someone else first.
I do think the U.S. has been patient up to this point, and I don't know what the solution is. The U.S. is damned if we do, and damned if we don't, we will get criticized no matter what we do.
Assured destruction is the only thing holding North Korea back from doing anything, and that will not change. As Ponderosa said, they are taking up a defensive position. Possessing nukes was they key lynch pin for the Kim dynasty being able to hold power indefinitely. Short of a well organized stealth coup, the Kim's are not going anywhere anytime soon.
What we do is nothing...because there's nothing we can do. The time for action was over when they tested their first bomb.
So why are you worried that they will? NK's bomb dreams are defensive. The US has 7000 plus nukes and a military apparatus the likes of which has never been seen on earth. Yet, our politicians and our generals want US to be afraid. This is all bullscat people. NK is not a threat to the US. We need to make peace with them and give them at least some assurance we are not about to do an "Iraq" on their country and the nuclear brinksmanship can end. It's like Bannon says. Live with it. Make a deal, Mr Dealmaker.
I think most Americans understand, despite the rhetoric, that the real threat is to our allies in South Korea and Japan. North Korea could hit 10 million people in Seoul with a nuke flung from a catapult (hyperbole, I know, but it would be incredibly easy). While I rank their ability to hit us with a nuke at nearly zero percent chance of success, hitting the South would be no challenge at all. Hitting Japan would only be marginally tougher.
We can't so much as throw a grenade into North Korea right now without weighing the very real possibility of one of the most populous and prosperous cities in Asia being turned into a parking lot within minutes. Like Bannon said, "they've got us."
As much as I detest Steve Bannon, he's 100% correct when he says there is no military solution for North Korea..."they've got us" were his words, I believe. They've had us over the barrel since their first nuclear test in '06. Ever since then we've had to live with the possibility of millions of dead South Koreans if we ever attacked them. It's an impossible situation.
Obama had no choices. Clinton and especially Bush allowed North Korea's nuclear weapons program to develop and flourish until it was too late. Had we not been bogged down by our middle eastern quagmires, we could have prevented all of this.
But the past is prologue, and North Korea has ensured their own survival by developing these weapons. Our only play is to convince them not to use them. They're at the big boys table now.
We've been over the barrel for far longer. Nukes aren't the big worry towards slaughtering civilians in the South. The guys got one of the largest artillery setups in the world and they're all within striking range of large civilian populations where he's had them aimed.
Ultimately, it's up to China what happens in North Korea. In the end though, they're a fly on the wall. He won't nuke anyone because he wants to stay alive and maintain power. He knows if he uses them on anyone his life is over. Even China won't protect him then.
For much of my adult life, it's gone like this: North Korea does something provocative toward developing nuclear weapons and threatens to kill us all; we make some stern condemnations and create some sanctions.
Sanctions clearly do nothing. We've been sanctioning the hell out of these people and their nuclear program is doing great.
It's just frustrating to watch the rest of the world - strongly armed nuclear power - talk tough and sit around doing nothing but allow North Korea to advance their missile technology and become exponentially more dangerous.
Guess I just wonder...why does it have to be this way? Why does this impoverished group of thugs get to outsmart us and boss us around? Are we really that dumb to not have seen how all this would play out? Why don't we just cave and give them everything they want? Seems that's the path the world has chosen.
And yes, I do blame Obama for his share of doing nothing about this.
Why should the US be allowed to dictate the behavior of another sovereign nation? How would the US react if a foreign government demanded that we cease development of new weapons and get rid of ones that we already have?
How many innocent lives are you willing to sacrifice to play macho with North Korea? The simple fact is they have nukes and are not going to give them up. Unless the US is willing to start a war and cause the death of untold numbers of civilians in the region, there is nothing that can be done.
For much of my adult life, it's gone like this: North Korea does something provocative toward developing nuclear weapons and threatens to kill us all; we make some stern condemnations and create some sanctions.
Sanctions clearly do nothing. We've been sanctioning the hell out of these people and their nuclear program is doing great.
It's just frustrating to watch the rest of the world - strongly armed nuclear power - talk tough and sit around doing nothing but allow North Korea to advance their missile technology and become exponentially more dangerous.
Guess I just wonder...why does it have to be this way? Why does this impoverished group of thugs get to outsmart us and boss us around? Are we really that dumb to not have seen how all this would play out? Why don't we just cave and give them everything they want? Seems that's the path the world has chosen.
And yes, I do blame Obama for his share of doing nothing about this.
Mmm -- I don't think it is that simple.
Are you prepared to begin a 'nuclear' war with North Korea. Not sure I am ready to go there.
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