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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The Jokes about North Korea



North Korea is rattling sabers again, and most people think of it as some sort of absurd theater. The north has made some outrageous propaganda films. They are threatening missile strikes on the US, which all analysis's believe they lack the capability of doing.

I've listened to talking heads saying that the only time that anyone pays attention to North Korea is when they make threats. If they don't threaten anyone, they are ignored.

Here's a thought, what if they actually believe their own rhetoric? What damage could they really do? It could be very bad news for South Korea, and the American troops stationed in their country. The North has enough artillery and short range rockets to kill a lot of people and do a lot of damage. North Korea has a huge standing army. They can walk to South Korea, and probably use hidden tunnels to do it.

Don't forget that North Korea has successfully tested nuclear weapons. Most analysis's doubt they can mount one on a rocket. So what? They could put one in a shipping container and ship it to the US. Low tech methods can deliver a weapon.

We don't really know the ins and outs of North Korean politics. What would happen if they miscalculated and launched an invasion or an attack on the US? They'd get wiped out, of course, but that doesn't mean a lot of people won't die needlessly.

Nothing happens in isolation. Maybe China, seeing the US occupied, could decide it's a good time to invade Taiwan. With US forces stretched thin, they might get away with it. It doesn't have to be China. Other nations could use the confusion and US distraction for their own agendas.

Imagine what kind of shock an attack would be to world financial markets? Things are shaky already. How about world fuel supplies? Trade? Heck, while we are at it, through in a few natural disasters to shake things up more. There's no rule that the world has to deal with only one disaster at a time.

The odds of North Korea actually doing something might be low, but the consequences are very high indeed. At the very least, we should know better than to joke about it.

-Sixbears

13 comments:

  1. I have to agree with you, Sixbears. Those folks are just crazy enough to start something and it would be a disaster no matter what!

    Certainly worth keeping an eye on them, I think.

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    1. Never hurts to be cautious when war is on the line.

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  2. There's a bit of Texan in most Americans way of thinking.
    Of course they could do us damaged ! Only the bravado of a Texan could deny this.
    Folks forget whom backed them during the Korean War, and why we fought to a stalemate that time.
    We were much stronger then also, and China was much weaker too.
    The out come now might well be different...

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    1. Used to work with a Korean War Vet. We don't want a repeat. Hell on earth.

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  3. I agree north korea is no joking matter.I look at it like this.They may be a flea compared to us but they are a big flea.We have faught 4 large wars since korea with much smaller armys and a few conflicts that should have been cake walks.Politics has always been a part of war.A cheap shot with even a small nuke would be disaster.DO we have what it takes to wage war with a nuclear armed nation on the small scale?

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  4. Doom and gloom, I am glad I am old and have had a good life.

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    1. I don't let it get me down, but I do like to see what's going on.

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  5. I put N korea into a paper tiger column. They have very limited range on their arsenal with very few chances of a finite number of supposed nukes.
    However, if they put one of those, say missiles on a boat off shore CONUS, That's a different animal all together. Odds are on a EMP strike there. I have zero confidence that N korea or Iran will do more than make noise for the next decade. They are playing a game of squeaky wheel gets the grease.

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    1. Really hope that's all it is. It's just the sort of thing that can get out of hand, but the odds are probably on the low side.

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  6. Knowing what they were, and what they could become, Patton wanted to whip Russia and MacArthur wanted to invade China while they were weak from the war. AT THAT TIME we could have done it easily. We've been paying for NOT doing it ever since.

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  7. We all know that DPRK is just throwing the usual tantrum. What shows is they are getting even more desperate. It lacks simple fuel. Remember it has the Gross Domestic Product of Tanzania. The only thing it has is artillery. It can not survive any serious military engagement, it will be the death of their current system of government.

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