Well our intelligence said Iraq had WMD, so who knows a NK sub with WMD outside of SF? Nah. But I run a little far fetched now. Wonder what the Japenese intel on the USA was when it bombed Pearl Harbor?
"Indefensible" huh ? Battle of Warsaw (1920) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Anyway - partly agree - even Sweden invaded Poland (Swedish deluge). But all of it hardened us. We survived wars, partitions, German occupation and communist regime. And our cakes are the most tasty ones
North Korean "Logic" Their citizens are starving in their worker's paradise (lost) So maybe they will forget they are hungry if the leaders remind them they are at a constant state of war - complete with cartoonish propaganda pictures of US GI's as sadistic thugs, circa 1950 and other fiction. The hungrier and more impoverished the people, the more saber-rattling to maintain the regime. The more saber-rattling, the more sanctions from the outside (read: rest of the) world or "The Evil Empire." Increase saber-rattling with additional sanctions. Repeat steps 3-5 with increasing intensity. Said loop ends one of two ways: Hysterical rhetoric tones down/ends Verbal war turns into a very real war at some point...ironic self-fulfilling prophecy - NK rhetoric that was intended to support the regime destroys it instead. ...a logical as the directives of Dilbert's dear leader The Pointy-Haired Boss.
Les_pl my wife is half Polish her Mom's and half Russian her Fathers. Perogies and Polish Sausage night in my house and Chicken Kiev another.
I'd rather be a soulless consumer perched on the latest electronics gadget and working to pay it than a starving idealist with dreams of a utopian society that doesn't exist. Funny how the NK and SK see themselves.
... flushed with Bud or Coors BTW - I suspect one reason of the NK recent activity. Years ago, when I was young, my country was suffering from heavy economic crisis caused by "brotherhood and friendship" with former Soviet Union. During that poor, dark and hopeless years there was one popular joke known by all. "What we can do to improve the economy and stop the crisis? To declare the war against USA and then immediately surrender "
Many Americans believe that NK is just blowing hot air, all hat no cattle, and this will pass. However if for some reason this Kim who many see as unstable gives the order this war will be over in a matter of days but the casualties will be high.
I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss NK. The missile firing may end quickly, but remember how many millions of hungry and brainwashed people exist knowing nothing but fear and propaganda that the West is evil and the enemy. Now the West invades their country "proving" their great leader was correct. Some will just not care. Give them food, and they will be your friend. But I suspect many others will not come so easily. The "rebuilding" of NK either by SK, the US, or the World will be long and hard. I also suspect there will be branches that remain loyal to the current regime even after it falls and a terrorist group in a demilitarized area will form similar to the IRA. Remember they also believe their leaders never die. So killing Kim-whoever does nothing but kill the shell of a body (a big shell...).
The instability may not be Kim himself, but a larger internal power struggle. A struggle which some of the jousters are bound to lose. We need to be aware that someone else could give the order, or that some unfortunate convergence of circumstances could ignite things without an explicit order from anyone. Should Kim actually give an order to start swinging sabers, I doubt that it will be with any of the sabers that have been publicly rattled. It will be different.
Yes, this isn't a video game. The NK Army may be ill equipped by modern standards, but thousands of artillery tubes and short range artillery rockets can make a big-big mess out of a target area. It wouldn't matter if they were 70 year old technology. If they are dug in and spread out over miles, you can't stop them in a reasonable amount of time either. If it starts, it definitely won't be just days unless NK just quits.
Today's Washington Post says residents in Soul SK its business as usual. No runs in the supermarkets for canned food and water. People working, shopping and dancing the night away.
usual traffic on the streets: http://livecam.seoul.go.kr/eng/livecam_2009/livecam_view_live.asp?mCode=011601
