Oddly enough, that seldom stops us from bombing the shit out of them anyway. NK seems to be one exception, at least so far.
This.
I’m with you. Conceptually, NK just might be the one exception to my personal “no more regime changes” policy- but you need to throw in “and doesn’t result in Seoul left an ash heap”
North Korea has definitely taken the lessons of Iraq, Libya, etc. to heart and made itself almost as regime-change-proof as a regime can be.
With well-coordinated, highly-targeted strikes couldn’t we eliminate the Kim regime and it’s military arsenal before they were even aware of what was going on?
I mean, Soviet tanks from the 1960’s can only do so much in 2017…
The real issue is what to do with North Korea after the fall. It’s not like deposing Saddam was the central quagmire of Iraqi Freedom.
Yep. And President Axis Of Evil formally adding them to the regime change list didn’t help things.
You mean something that will cause shock, and awe?
I can only assume you will be enlisting in the infantry so that you can be part of the occupying force that will patrol the streets of N Korea and put down any insurgency? Also, we’ll need to raise taxes to cover the hundreds of billions it will cost to rebuild the country and educate the people, you’re ok with that too, right?
A war with North Korea would be an epic disaster. Sure, they’d end up being defeated, perhaps quickly or perhaps not. But they would go all out in doing everything possible to make the rest of Korea, Japan, the US, and perhaps even China pay a price for trying to overthrow Kim. When the dust clears, the US would almost certainly lose any and all credibility as a political partner in Asia, which would be then dominated by China.
The best option for the US is to put more political (and who knows, maybe some economic) pressure on China to stop protecting North Korea when they misbehave. This is why the strategic partnerships are so important for the United States. Asian countries have other options for leadership - perhaps not their favorite options but they exist. But America has only one option to project its power and influence in the region, and that’s through alliances with partners. Act unilaterally, especially in ways that are deemed irresponsible, and the power and clout of the US goes way, way down.
Nah, the occupation would pay for itself. We just have to liberate and sell their massive reserves of… oil? rare earth metals? gold? gravel? There’s something we want, right?
Barring that, we can always pay for the war with tax cuts.
Fair enough, just note: I’m not going this time.
That’s a hell of a good question.
This is why I’m a long time proponent of a draft (note that although I’m way too old to be drafted, I have three sons of prime age). Oh, and no deferments (well, maybe severe mental disability). Even if you’re in a wheelchair, they can find something for you to do, especially since we won’t need all those contractors anymore. Not 100% of people (so not required national service), but whatever number the generals and admirals can convince Congress they need. Some slots for volunteers (need career military), but some significant proportion needs to be draftees (10%, 25%, 50%, I don’t know).
Far too many people seem to look at the US military as some sort of video game. If you or someone you know is likely to be in harm’s way, that should cut way down on the popularity of war/police actions/etc. without precluding going to war for a real national interest (including potentially removing odious regimes, even if they don’t have oil).
Draft? Oh, hell, no! Of course I know that selective service registration is required in the US. But, as career military myself, with my entire career in the all volunteer era, I can confidently say, the very last thing the military needs is people who don’t want to be in the military in the first place. The rest of your post shows an enormous lack of understanding of military service. If you did, in fact, serve and have that view, well, that’s a damn shame.
It wasn’t even a flag. It was a propoganda poster with Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il with some communist slogan. There was some grainy security video footage that probably wouldn’t hold up in court here because the quality is so bad.
Cuz we’re Merikuh and they killed a white man.
They also have a hundred thousand rockets and missiles pointed at the capital of south korea only 35 miles from the DMZ.
If you and I know those exist, so does the DOD and I imagine with considerable certainty of where.
Again, we deposed Saddam within weeks. His military capability was greater than anything North Korea can effect.
Finally, with regard to America’s moral standing, deposing a ruthless dictator and installing a democracy doesn’t do us harm. Unless every North Korean fought to the death for their Pillsbury Dictator, I think they would quickly embrace us the moment they get a quality meal.
Call me naive I suppose, but do so at the risk of vastly underestimating how much the people of North Korea suffer due to lack of basic sustenance. I don’t see them devolving into sectarian war as we all saw coming with Iraq. If we give them food and built their infrastructure, I doubt they see us as the invading hordes. If nothing else, the revelation of how the Chinese and South Koreans live right next door will open their eyes.
I don’t think that matters much. The US has become technologically advanced enough that we can fight wars with few people.
Bombers and air support, cyber hackers, special forces, cruise missiles, weapons and training, spy satellites, diplomatic pressure on a nation’s allies, etc can influence a war with minimal us casualties and costs. If anything, we will see more of this because it doesn’t cost us much in life or money.
Of course, you can’t occupy a nation with that stuff. But you can help a domestic insurgency defeat a government with them.
Nope, never served. Never even registered, as there was a small gap where you weren’t required to (I have older and younger brothers who were required to register).
And, yeah, I understand that draftees would mostly not attain the level of achievement that the all volunteer force is capable of. But I still want them there as a bulwark against adventurism. Mr and Mrs Main Street (and Senator Silverspoon) are much less likely to support a war if their offspring is at risk of getting her ass shot.