America is scared of North Korea.

peilthetraveler · May 25, 2010

Quote from AAAintheBeltway:

I'm not a big fan of appeasement, but why do we have to do the heavy lifting here? It was a South Korean boat that was hit, not one of ours.

Because we are the self appointed global police now. Just watch this 30 second Navy commercial on how we are a "GLOBAL" force for good and not just an "American" force anymore.

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peilthetraveler · May 25, 2010

Quote from Dr. Zhivodka:

Please link anything you deem relevant.

Torpedo fragments still don't float.

Lets make it a little more simple. Suppose I see you swimming in the water. I shoot you. They drag your body out of the water and see the bullet still lodged inside you.

Its the same thing but with a torpedo for the bullet and a ship for the body. Some of the shrapnel sank, some got stuck in the ship.

Gabfly1 · May 25, 2010

Quote from mike oxbig:

Yes, it's best to just let these things fester, like e coli on a slab of warm canadian bacon. Without consequences.

Fine. You convinced me. War is the only solution and it must commence with immediate effect. Enlist now and put your money where your mouth is. Or are you a hero only when it comes to the spilling of blood other than your own?

Dr. Zhivodka · May 25, 2010

No dickhead...it's not the same.

Quote from peilthetraveler:

Lets make it a little more simple. Suppose I see you swimming in the water. I shoot you. They drag your body out of the water and see the bullet still lodged inside you.

Its the same thing but with a torpedo for the bullet and a ship for the body. Some of the shrapnel sank, some got stuck in the ship.

FeenixRizin · May 25, 2010

Quote from KINGOFSHORTS:

We will declare war on third rate countries like Iraq to look tough when bombing camels with million dollar missiles and blow up old automobiles with untrained forces. But when it comes to real war.

We just do not have the balls anymore.

Even Bush knew it, he stuck with Iraq even though NK has said to the world they were developing real WMDs and actually had nuclear materials, we still attacked Iraq which had none.

So I predict NK will get away with it again.

oooooooooh, ooooooooooooh ... North Korea

their ideology, like yours is a quick death. No intervention required

(now, .... I could explain the difference between a suitcase bomb and a nutjob who rules a million man army, (who are, by all accounts malnourished to the point of near death), with aims of near-orbit munitions, but really, why the hell would I?

KINGOFSHORTS · May 25, 2010

Quote from MohdSalleh:

I must say communist music sounds great. Very grand.

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You should see the Arirang Mass games, they actually use people and colored boards to make the big displays, they flip the colors. Pretty amazing I doubt we have anything close to it.

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omegapoint · May 25, 2010

Quote from peilthetraveler:

Lets make it a little more simple. Suppose I see you swimming in the water. I shoot you. They drag your body out of the water and see the bullet still lodged inside you.

Its the same thing but with a torpedo for the bullet and a ship for the body. Some of the shrapnel sank, some got stuck in the ship.

What if you're in my backyard pool?

RCG Trader · May 25, 2010

Quote from AAAintheBeltway:

I'm not a big fan of appeasement, but why do we have to do the heavy lifting here? It was a South Korean boat that was hit, not one of ours. As I recall, when they attacked one of our boats decades ago, we did nothing. South Korea is a rich, industrialized country which runs a huge trade surplus with us, thanks to trade barriers. If they want to get into a war, let them but leave us out.

This kind of incident is just why it is madness for us to have troops in SK. The idea is they are a tripwire to bring us immediately into any conflict, but it is pretty clear that appeasement is far more popular than confrontation in SK. They will swallow this incident, like they have many others over the years. I can't say that is a bad approach, given the devastation that a war would bring to them.

No, appeasement does not work, never has, never will.

What should happen is that we should stay out of any war that does not involve us, but we are an ally of SK.

But we all know this is not about NK and SK. It is really about what China might do if we crush NK. They have actual and fiscal nukes against us.

All China would have to do is dump our debt into the open market, and we might win the NK battle, but the global war would be very much over.

rcaldwell · May 25, 2010

Quote from RCG Trader:

No, appeasement does not work, never has, never will.

What should happen is that we should stay out of any war that does not involve us, but we are an ally of SK.

But we all know this is not about NK and SK. It is really about what China might do if we crush NK. They have actual and fiscal nukes against us.

All China would have to do is dump our debt into the open market, and we might win the NK battle, but the global war would be very much over.

China will not let it get to the point of US "crushing" NK. Remember, early 1950s ? Don't think they will sit idly by while an invasion occurs on their border ally. An attack on NK will be the big one.

AAAintheBeltway · May 25, 2010

Quote from Kassz007:

South Korea and USA have a military pact. South Korea helped USA out with troops in Vietnam, Iraq, etc.

North Korea has nuclear weapons. USA has the world's biggest, most advanced military. Why SHOULDN'T the USA get involved?

Would you rather NK nuke SK?

In the unlikely event NK used nukes, yes, we would have an obligation to respond. I have grave doubts our current president would do so however, and so do the North Koreans, which illustrates the danger of having a weak president.

My real problem is with the concept of having a large contingent of US troops in SK as a tripwire. There is a limit to what we can accomplish. I don't see the need for us to defend europe from a non-existent soviet threat, and I don't see the need to protect a large, rich country like SK. At one point, 50 so years ago, maybe the policy made sense. it doesn't any more.