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You really believe that info you posted represents Japan? That is like saying Miley Cyrus represents the USA.
Why are we concerned about the Japanese? They're basically our allies. (Maybe they are exactly our allies. I'm not sure of exactly what our relationship is). We have lots of military bases there, and they think exactly like typical first world western nations. They have the same values we do (capitalism/free press/relatively open to foreigners/emphasis on the importance of human rights). Lots of Americans travel to Japan to meet friendly Japanese. Lots of Japanese travel to America to meet friendly Americans.
There is nothing but a paranoid fear of people with squinty eyes that I can think of that would cause any North American to worry about Japan. They'll be a threat about the same time Ireland becomes one.
It really is all about China. We have more pressing issues.
Now, why hasn't South Korea gone on and wiped those crazy bastards out? Just because we don't want to upset China in my mind has nothing to do with S. Korea. They have a perfect right to take back what is theirs and even China would have to recognize that.
Ahhhhhhhhh, but then China would be perfectly within their rights to take over Taiwan.
Do we want to give up Taiwan just to get back North Korea? We are bound to defend South Korea from North Korea, which doesn't really seem like much of a challenge anymore. But we are also bound to defend Taiwan from China. I don't think we are up for that right now.
It really is all about China. We have more pressing issues.
Now, why hasn't South Korea gone on and wiped those crazy bastards out? Just because we don't want to upset China in my mind has nothing to do with S. Korea. They have a perfect right to take back what is theirs and even China would have to recognize that.
Ahhhhhhhhh, but then China would be perfectly within their rights to take over Taiwan.
Do we want to give up Taiwan just to get back North Korea? We are bound to defend South Korea from North Korea, which doesn't really seem like much of a challenge anymore. But we are also bound to defend Taiwan from China. I don't think we are up for that right now.
Realpolitik.
Actually, I heard somewhere that if North Korea's million man army were to invade the south, the goal would be to slow them down for as long as possible until more help arrives. I'm not sure that million man army could be stopped for awhile. At minimum, they could easily blow up Seoul. Once the great big fleets o'bombers and reinforcements arrive things could be different, particularly because I'm not sure that North Korea has many fuel resources.
But they could definitely wreak lots and lots of havoc initially if the north decided to invade.
One difference was that Hitler was attacking our allies.
If Hitler was not invading other countries but still exterminating his own people, I'd want sanctions against Germany but not a war with them.
Like I said, many people will view me as a cold hearted ba$tard, but I'm being honest. I don't want the US to participate in any military interaction unless we or our allies are attacked or if there is an imminent threat to us.
Let me ask you this. Stalin slaughtered tens of millions of his own people. Do you believe we should have gone to war with the Soviet Union? Keep in mind that it most assuredly would have escalated to nuclear war.
It really is all about China. We have more pressing issues.
Now, why hasn't South Korea gone on and wiped those crazy bastards out? Just because we don't want to upset China in my mind has nothing to do with S. Korea. They have a perfect right to take back what is theirs and even China would have to recognize that.
Ahhhhhhhhh, but then China would be perfectly within their rights to take over Taiwan.
Do we want to give up Taiwan just to get back North Korea? We are bound to defend South Korea from North Korea, which doesn't really seem like much of a challenge anymore. But we are also bound to defend Taiwan from China. I don't think we are up for that right now.
Realpolitik.
What does North Korea have that South Korea wants? Nothing. South Korea is perfectly happy with the way things are. They are prosperous and happy. The last thing they want is millions of starving, illiterate, brainwashed savages streaming across their northern border.
What we need to do is send John Kerry over there. He will talk about global warming to them and smoothe everything over.
Meanwhile our dear leader will be saying. Nothing to see here folks move along.
There is an uproar. The problem is that there is nothing we can do about it. Bombing the hell out of them would just kill the same citizens they are killing, and they could retaliate with nukes. Land invasion is impossible because their only land border is China. They'd see an invasion from South Korea coming right at them. And an amphibious assault would cost a hundred thousand of casualties. No way in hell.
I agree, and that invasion would anger North Korea and they would lash out at South Korea, likely causing lots of deaths there as a side effect. Just as in Iraq and Afghanistan, if we get involved and start dropping bombs or invading, lots of innocent civilians will lose their lives- in greater numbers than is happening under the current circumstances (just as was the case in Iraq). It's a no win situation for us to get involved.
Unfortunately, authoritarian rule is the historical norm in the Orient, and in that respect, North Korea's government is more "traditional" than present-day South Korea. Yes, I know that SK was ruled by dictators for decades, but I bet all of them put together were responsible for far fewer deaths than any one of the "Kims".
However, South Korea has a modern army, well supplied by the U.S. They have twice the population and i believe could waltz right over the NKs. That and I suspect the North Koreans will roll over. The only unknown is how China will react to the unification of North and South. I suspect they enjoy the buffer zone.
SK not only has an Army supplied by the US but also Marines and AF supplied and trained by the US. I don't think the NK's would just roll over, however, if the NK civilians were armed and fed by the SK's against the NK military, that would spell doom very quick for the NK military and the regime. I'm sure China feels that SK is a threat as it is not a communist society. However, China is still a slave to the almighty dollar despite what they say about themselves.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clintone
Actually, I heard somewhere that if North Korea's million man army were to invade the south, the goal would be to slow them down for as long as possible until more help arrives. I'm not sure that million man army could be stopped for awhile. At minimum, they could easily blow up Seoul. Once the great big fleets o'bombers and reinforcements arrive things could be different, particularly because I'm not sure that North Korea has many fuel resources.
But they could definitely wreak lots and lots of havoc initially if the north decided to invade.
The only real resistance in Korea is 2nd Infantry Division and that's not even the entire division.
With their logistics, or lack of logistics, I doubt NK could sustain war for even 6 months. They simply don't have the food, ammunition, fuel or repair parts for their old and outdated Russian military machinery.
I believe that Seoul is within range of NK's long range artillery and they make regular threats to turn Seoul into a wasteland.
But with the infrastructure problems that NK has, I doubt it would be difficult to destroy their command and control cells so they wouldn't be able to coordinate any attack for a sustained period of time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Book Lover 21
What does North Korea have that South Korea wants? Nothing. South Korea is perfectly happy with the way things are. They are prosperous and happy. The last thing they want is millions of starving, illiterate, brainwashed savages streaming across their northern border.
And that pretty much sums up. I think it's somewhere in the 25 million person neighborhood of people who are starving, illiterate and brainwashed people who would absolutely devastate and wreck SK if unification were to occur. The same would happen to China if refugees head north instead of south.
What are you supposed to do with those 25 million people?
What's going to happen to the economy of SK? You have all of these unskilled and uneducated workers who have all of a sudden flooded the market place who have no means of working besides manual labor and yet still need to be fed, clothed and medicined.
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