tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post9085044179761347504..comments2024-03-28T10:12:37.488-05:00Comments on Althouse: "Bomb North Korea, Before It’s Too Late."Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-55425352516460908652013-04-15T10:28:23.020-05:002013-04-15T10:28:23.020-05:00As a history professor, the author must know that ...As a history professor, the author must know that air power by itself does not win wars. <br /><br />If we're going to bomb NKorea, are we also willing to send infantry? If not, perhaps we shouldn't be starting something we're not willing to finish.<br /><br />And if NKorea is actually capable of producing working nuclear weapons, I'd think the greater danger to the USA would be that they'd sell them to obtain some hard currency.<br /><br />A shipping container is still a more likely delivery vehicle than an ICBM.<br /><br />What they're doing is talking crazy in the hope that it'll win them some appeasement cash. It's like pulling the steering wheel off in a game of "chicken." I surely hope we do not encourage such behavior by making it pay off.<br /><br />But if we're not willing to go to war then we're essentially neutered when it comes to countering NKorea's threatening behaviors.<br />Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16099940931064117337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-43715163040749208322013-04-14T22:12:14.682-05:002013-04-14T22:12:14.682-05:00If you guys(I'm south Korean ) going to bomb N...If you guys(I'm south Korean ) going to bomb N Korea, is it gonna hit S Korea?(3/4 of my family members live at S Korea):(Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16429199217404834533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-18297964872636290652013-04-14T21:45:30.372-05:002013-04-14T21:45:30.372-05:00Rusty: Th Kurds and Afghan women might disagree.
...<i> Rusty: Th Kurds and Afghan women might disagree.</i><br /><br />Some might. Other Afghan women might be pissed at Obama for sending a drone to blow up bridesmaids and children because members of the Taliban were at the wedding too.<br /><br /><br /><br />Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10438099877519107411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-64470110471626565322013-04-14T20:26:02.725-05:002013-04-14T20:26:02.725-05:00Joe. we know where the majority are hidden. We hav...Joe. we know where the majority are hidden. We have air superiorityRustyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00938263272237104128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-9287172444402299652013-04-14T20:20:40.082-05:002013-04-14T20:20:40.082-05:00
We have spent trillions on a couple of dumb wars ...<br />We have spent trillions on a couple of dumb wars these last ten or twelve year and all we really have done is make the rubble bounce<br /><br />Th Kurds and Afghan women might disagree.Rustyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00938263272237104128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-4012194845268994102013-04-14T19:11:32.598-05:002013-04-14T19:11:32.598-05:00Joe: how many civilian casualties are acceptable?
...<i>Joe: how many civilian casualties are acceptable?</i><br /><br />You're right. I don't understand this rush to war just because some loony tunes dictator somewhere has insulted us. It doesn't make my blood boil and I don't want to run off to bomb his country (and get half of South Korea) blown up in the process.<br /><br />If he starts killing Americans we have to respond. But we at least ought to wait to see what the fat kid with the bad haircut does before we send in the cruise missiles and B-2 bombers. If the North Koreans are dug in with much of their army and weapons hidden underground it will be like trying to capture Okinawa and Iwo Jima all over again.<br /><br />Land wars in Asia are bad for our boys.<br />Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10438099877519107411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-21398942526034547392013-04-14T18:49:01.481-05:002013-04-14T18:49:01.481-05:00Rusty, what do you mean "get off a salvo?&quo...Rusty, what do you mean "get off a salvo?" Are you under some sort of illusion that the artillery would be neutralized in one strike? We don't even know where the hell they are. <br /><br />Even if we assume the best, in order to destroy nuclear missiles which can't hit the US, how many civilian casualties are acceptable? Has the US become that callous about war?<br /><br />(Isn't a bit hypocritical for Rush and others to criticize Obama's attach on Libya, yet advocate one on North Korea?)Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450897654318345683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-34449807983076573552013-04-14T17:21:20.867-05:002013-04-14T17:21:20.867-05:00Obama will take a tiny risk to kill 1 man (Osama) ...Obama will take a tiny risk to kill 1 man (Osama) but he will not take a bigger risk to dispatch a MAJOR threat. Why? Perhaps because if he uses AMERICAN force to destroy NK's missles, who's next if our policy is consistent? <br /><br />The Iranians. 30yearProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08490572564579959432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-2729512452818917952013-04-14T17:12:16.840-05:002013-04-14T17:12:16.840-05:00Paco Wove: I'd argue that stopped it pretty go...<i>Paco Wove: I'd argue that stopped it pretty good on the Korean peninsula.</i><br /><br />We hardly vanquished communism in Korea. It's still there 60 years later. All we did was push the North Koreans back to their original lines. It was a stalemate, not a victory for us.Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10438099877519107411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-35698978264151743922013-04-14T17:05:19.700-05:002013-04-14T17:05:19.700-05:00bagoh20: suggesting that [infrastructure spending]...<i>bagoh20: suggesting that [infrastructure spending] as a solution does make you a lefty. </i><br /><br />Well, if if any government spending is a lefty solution, your idea of spending on defense is a lefty solution too. Eisenhower built the interstate highway system (a useful investment if there ever was one). Is he in your opinion a lefty too?<br /><br />We have spent trillions on a couple of dumb wars these last ten or twelve year and all we really have done is make the rubble bounce. It has made out country poorer, not richer. You spend a million bucks on bombs and all you have to show for it at the end of the day is new holes in the ground. You spend the same money on new bridges or roads here at home and you have something which will help people and serve the economy for the next 50 years.Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10438099877519107411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-24897909428750457842013-04-14T16:01:38.756-05:002013-04-14T16:01:38.756-05:00"Why do you think the march of communism stop...<i>"Why do you think the march of communism stopped?"<br><br>"Well, it wasn't because of our war with North Korea in the early fifties"</i><br /><br />I'd argue that stopped it pretty good on the Korean peninsula. Paco Wovéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00053886112561036768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-85243965350741542782013-04-14T15:29:08.276-05:002013-04-14T15:29:08.276-05:00joe. that's assuming they can get off a salvo....joe. that's assuming they can get off a salvo. keep in mind they have no air cover to speak of and no air borne intelligence.Rustyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00938263272237104128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-69386757693133486362013-04-14T14:02:07.927-05:002013-04-14T14:02:07.927-05:00"Funny how China, Japan, and Russia don't..."Funny how China, Japan, and Russia don't care but we do."<br /><br />Yeah I'm sure you have real deep insight into what they think.Gary Rosenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00338791760274457388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-59345431233530027102013-04-14T12:39:09.873-05:002013-04-14T12:39:09.873-05:00Let's say only 33% of North Korea's artill...Let's say only 33% of North Korea's artillery actually works. That's enough to level Seoul in 20 minutes instead of six.<br /><br />This counts only the artillery. They have hundreds of non-nuclear missiles and a military force exceeding a million soldiers.<br /><br />Start a war there and you're looking at a minimum of one million civilian deaths and millions more non-fatal casualties. You really willing to make that gamble?Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04450897654318345683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-36001728772406945602013-04-14T10:08:28.611-05:002013-04-14T10:08:28.611-05:00"I'm Bertrand Russell, and I approved thi..."I'm <a href="http://www.biographybase.com/biography/russell_bertrand.html" rel="nofollow">Bertrand Russell</a>, and I approved this plan."Chip S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13210586187250159751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-14960558859264243642013-04-14T09:43:57.094-05:002013-04-14T09:43:57.094-05:00Dante said...
Meade,
"Not certain if that is...Dante said...<br />Meade,<br /><br />"Not certain if that is sarcasm or not."<br /><br />It was not sarcasm.Meadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00117933390338651739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-45750789830455947042013-04-14T09:42:47.728-05:002013-04-14T09:42:47.728-05:00" rather spent the money on our decaying infr...<i>" rather spent the money on our decaying infrastructure, especially in the dying manufacturing towns of western Pennsylvania where I grew up."</i>.<br /><br />I grew up there too, and I don't think the government spending money would have prevented them from their demise, and suggesting that as a solution does make you a lefty. The government has spent trillions "saving jobs", while regulating and taxing them right into the hands of the Chinese regardless.<br /><br />Our defense spending is one of the few success stories with government actually saving and creating jobs in the last 30 years, albeit overly expensive, but that's the way they roll on all things.bagoh20https://www.blogger.com/profile/10915174575358413637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-37932855090167807942013-04-14T09:39:56.136-05:002013-04-14T09:39:56.136-05:00rcocean with a string of thread winners even thoug...rcocean with a string of thread winners even though comically, most thread participants don't even know it. <br /><br />My favorite? So hard to choose but probably this one:<br /><br />"Never forget. We need to bear any burden and pay any price to advance freedom around the world.<br /><br />Of course, by "we" I mean other Americans. Personally, I plan on staying home and making money.<br /><br />Thank You."<br />harrogatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02026095215683554629noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-89636213408169118432013-04-14T09:26:01.825-05:002013-04-14T09:26:01.825-05:00edutcher: Gene sounds like the kind of Lefty (or L...<i>edutcher: Gene sounds like the kind of Lefty (or Libertarian) that springs up any time we start thinking about offensive operations and are usually the first ones to call our guys war criminals.</i><br /><br />If I were a lefty I wouldn't have spent 5 1/2 years in the US Navy after college, nor would I have gone to my old patrol squadron's 45th reunion in Jacksonville, Florida, last summer. If I were a lefty I wouldn't have sought out the ball cap with my squadron patch when I went bike riding today. <br /><br />As for my being a libertarian, I plead (mostly) guilty to that, especially when it comes to supporting the first and second amendment.<br /><br />As for calling our soldiers war criminals, that's something I've never done. But I do believe both of our last two commander in chiefs have criminally ignored our constitution. I'd especially like to know why Obama thinks he can out drones to kill American citizens on nothing but his own say-so.<br /><br />Finally, regarding my distrust of most of this country's "offensive operations" of the last 10 years, I think the US would be much stronger if we put a moratorium on optional wars for a decade or two and rather spent the money on our decaying infrastructure, especially in the dying manufacturing towns of western Pennsylvania where I grew up.Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10438099877519107411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-63035988847750190122013-04-14T08:56:10.902-05:002013-04-14T08:56:10.902-05:00Joe said...
Per capita, North Korea is the most he... Joe said...<br />Per capita, North Korea is the most heavily armed country in the world. They have enough conventional artillery to level Seoul several times over. They have hundreds of tons of nerve agents. On top of that, the country is run by lunatics who would retaliate.<br /><br />We bomb a missile pad (it's highly unlikely the North Koreans have silos) and North Korea decimates South Korea. Even if only a third of the population of Seoul is killed, that's 3.5 million people who would die within 36 hours.<br /><br />Actually the United States is the most heavily armed country in the world.<br /><br />NORK strategists have determined that fully half of the vaunted NKorean artillery is inoperable due to lack of maintenance and spare parts. The same goes to military preparedness Half the troops suffer from malnutrition. As for nerve agents, provided the actually exist, conditions have to be just right to deploy them or you risk killing your own people. The NKorea leadership are crazy like foxes. Bluff has worked before. A really big bluff will work now.<br />That is not to say we should assume the gun is unloaded. That would be a mistake.<br />Call his bluff. His only hand is to threaten Japan and hope everybody folds.He has no cards and he knows it.<br />of course I could be wrong. LilKim could be being manipulated by the NORK generals. This could be their gotterdammerung.<br />Rustyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00938263272237104128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-71093261100326513672013-04-14T08:45:43.948-05:002013-04-14T08:45:43.948-05:00We don't do it for the same reason the Euros d...We don't do it for the same reason the Euros didn't do anything about Hitler and the Germans until his deed was almost done. Starts with C and ends with T. Has 9 other letters.glennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00993381999736874161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-13431181676307204292013-04-14T08:33:37.976-05:002013-04-14T08:33:37.976-05:00Apologies--Its Chuck Hagel--Georg Hegel was anothe...Apologies--Its Chuck Hagel--Georg Hegel was another dude in Germany.Roger J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12639676792043324100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-33299239164257300962013-04-14T08:28:23.061-05:002013-04-14T08:28:23.061-05:00I honestly have no idea how to deal with this situ...I honestly have no idea how to deal with this situation. Fortunately, Barack Obama, John Kerry and Chuck Hegel (and a overly PC Joint Chiefs of Staff) are on the job--what could go wrong.Roger J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12639676792043324100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-50495708365413366522013-04-14T07:13:20.351-05:002013-04-14T07:13:20.351-05:00"The Bush approach was try to stabilize the M...<i>"The Bush approach was try to stabilize the ME."</i><br /><br />HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!<br /><br />Yeah, and American troops in Vietnam burned down villages to save them, and our air forces dropped bombs, napalm and Agent Orange on people and landscapes below to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese!Robert Cookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06951286299515983901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-64096737175014449042013-04-14T05:46:49.200-05:002013-04-14T05:46:49.200-05:00Gene said...
Of course [our vital interests] are ...Gene said...<br /><br /><i><b>Of course [our vital interests] are at stake. Japan and SK will arm up if NK can not be dealt with . . . </b><br /><br />I don't know that our vital interests are at stake. We didn't go to war in Korea originally because South Korea was some vital ally. </i><br /><br />No, we went to war because Japan had become a vital ally.<br /><br />Gene sounds like the kind of Lefty (or Libertarian) that springs up any time we start thinking about offensive operations and are usually the first ones to call our guys war criminals.<br /><br />The Pudgeball from Pyongyang is more Peking's problem than ours, but if this moron actually starts shooting off nuclear missiles, it's going to be our problem very quickly. edutcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15033144261502435196noreply@blogger.com