COUNTDOWN TO WAR WITH N.KOREA

[mburbank]

SEOUL (Reuters) - Top U.S. arms negotiator John Bolton described North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on Thursday as a tyrannical dictator who lived like royalty while jailing thousands and keeping many hungry in a "hellish nightmare."


There is no way this speech was made without administration approval and direction. Not that anything isn't true in this statement, but this is an early drumbeat test balloon. It's designed to provoke and true or not has little point beyond provocation.

I think this is a very dangerous strategy in that
A.) Credability problems caused by the Iraq war will make it much harder for the administration to move public opinion to a war footing
B.) Kim il is far more volatile than Sadam was, and in a far more cpapable position to inflict preemptive damage if and when he decides Washington has made up it's mind.
C.) The lesson Iraq has sent N. Korea is if you want to inflict punishment on the US before being destroyed, the sooner the better.

Sadam had no choice but to sit there while we rattled our sabers and wait for a war the administration decided to wage and intended to wage all through the lead up. If Kim Il comes to the conclusion that's what we're doing now, he will have no motivation NOT to strike.

Meanwhile, China is using the opportunity to gear up for 'reunification' (a word they use the way W. uses 'regime change' with Taiwan. Why would they do this when it means war with the US? Simple. They intend to use US non interference in Taiwan as a bargaining chip for supporting us in N.Korea. Active support and pressure from China, including an exit strategy for Kim Il, is the only way I can think of to avert Nuclear conflict in Korea. W may not be willing to trade Taiwan to avoid aa nuclear exchange, but it's certainly reasonable of the Chinese to expect he might be willing to deal.

That's the pit fall of being the worlds only super power. You can't expect the worlds other powers not to take advantage of your problems.

Our strategic situation vis a vis N. Korea right now is direct blow back from the Iraq war.

What the HELL is a speech like the one quoted above meant to achieve? Convince Kim Il we're serious? He ALREADY thinks that. That's what makes him so dangerous right now, that's WHY his nuclear weapons program is not only fast track, but out in the open. Because he thinks we're serious.

[Jeanette X]

*gulp*

[sspadowsky]

Max, it surprises me that you're not in a position of influence. That's some damn shrewd political analysis.

Well, I'll be sleeping great tonight.

[Mungus the Foon]

the war with iraq was much easier to justify than any possible war with north korea or anyone else. the reason being that the UN had put conditions on iraq following the first gulf war. if there are any such conditions placed on north korea then i haven't heard of them. also, the use of "possession of weapons of mass destruction" as justification for any war is hypocritical, we have them, so does france, and the USA (the state which seems most opposed to any other obtaining WMDs) has more than anybody else in the world.
i am fully aware that oil was NOT the reason for the war on iraq (or should i say not a MAJOR reason) but an interesting fact is that just before the run up to the war, saddam hussein began to insist that iraqi oil was bought in euros.
i also think that it would be ridiculous to start a war with north korea on the basis that they imprison political opponents whilst so many are being held without evidence or the ability to have a fair trial in guantanamo bay. what about torture light? i always thought that north korea was one of the most useful states to have people tortured in.
also taekwondo was invented in korea. (and they have nuclear weapons)
north korea DON'T FUCK WITH THEM.

[sspadowsky]

Dude. North Korea has been under similarly harsh sanctions for a long time, which is partly the reason for the shape they're in.

[Mungus the Foon]

ok. sorry. didn't know that.

[kellychaos]

On the bright side , if it came to military action we wouldn't actually be starting a war with North Korea as the war with them never technically ended. It was cease-fire agreement. That's why there's still a DMZ. I wonder if that would allow us to circumvent those nasty U.N. regulations ... again. :/

[mburbank]

Not only does it allow us to circumvent the UN, it also allows the President a pretext for circumventing congress.

Not that he needs it. While I don't think congress would be quite so eager to roll over and expose their furry little bellies this time around, the supposed 'war powers' act has been thoroughly defanged over the years.

[Mungus the Foon]

to be perfectly honest i think that the UN is on its last legs.
any more ignoring what it says and it'll be gone.

[Ninjavenom]

N. Korea just wants to scare meddlers away from its Uranium Mines!

[Schimid]

[Zero Signal]

Build Coke plants there. That'll teach 'em!

[kellychaos]

Yeah, drop a Chevrolet plant on dat ass!

[The_Rorschach]

Twenty dollars says war with No Korea won't happen during Bush's term.

[Jeanette X]

Originally Posted by Zero Signal

Build Coke plants there. That'll teach 'em!

I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?

[mburbank]

Never mind, Jeanette. Half these folks probably think Bopal balances out because of all the great jobs they gave folks before killing them.

[The_Rorschach]

The ratio of such people would be exactly equal to those whom believe Chernobyl was caused by capitalists in an effort to undermine the world's regard for the communist experiment in the Soviet Union.

[mburbank]

Nuclear power doesn't need covert help to be an abysmal failure.

[Ronnie Raygun]

WAR! HUHH! GOOD GOD!! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR!!?

[mburbank]

Absolutely nothing, last I checked.

[Sethomas]

The industrial sector is sad that you overlooked it.

[Sergeant_Tibbs]

Twenty dollars says war with No Korea won't happen during Bush's term.

I say it happens during his second

[Zhukov]

Kim Jong Il just got voted in again. I think that proves to all you whiny americans that the Korean people actually want him to lead them. Kim is not a dictator if they vote him in! 99% voted for him I think! Can you say 'landslide'!