How will the forces play out, do you think? Both China and North Korea are considerably more threatening than Saddam could ever hope to be. Based on the rhetoric it seems as if North korea is spoiling for a fight. If we give it to them, where will China stand?
Jesus, willie wo-lap lam has made a career of bombastic journalism without a shred of fact. Witness his daily columns in the South China Morning Post for years and years lambasting the Chinese government and pretending to actually know what was going on in Zhongnanhai.
The brand spanking new Chinese leadership has been extremely low key and moderate about Iraq, despite it being a long term pillar that what a country does inside of it’s own border is sacrosant to China.
North Korea is way out there where the buses don’t run - both literally and figuratively. China does not control Nkor and may have only minor influence. Don’t forget, Beijing is well within range of any NKor nukes.
China is not threatening the US and is being incredibly restrained for China on even making public statements. that’s a complete non-starter and I suggest not thinking of one of the US’ biggest and best trading partner as the commie enemy of yore
What China Guy said. China has a strong interest in maintaining peace at its back door and is the US’s best potential ally in containing NK, although as China Guy said, China has lost what little influence it had. (The NK press, which is the voice of the leadership, regularly calls China “capitalist revisionists.”)
What people unfamiliar with the Korean situation do not understand is that NK regularly threatens wrath and devastation as a sort of preemptive bluster, and such rhetoric must be sifted to find what the leadership is really saying. NK’s pattern has been to use war-like rhetoric to rachet up tensions and then to extort rewards from the US and South Korea for backing down.
Haha… you fool! You fell victim to one of the classic
blunders. The most famous is: Never get involved in a land war in
Asia. Only slightly less well know is this: Never go in against a
Sicilian when death is on the line!
Well, what the media seems to say about Nk, is that they’re doing it on purpose to kick start negotiations with the USA about food and oil.
I don’t think China would risk a war with the USA, not now, anyway. Chinese are very very careful and they have a lot of patience. I think they’d only risk a war if USA started interfering with China’s claims to Taiwan and Tibet.
I think it’s much more likely that they will be occupied in ME for a while, there are rumours about that USA is already thinking of taking IRAN next. As I said, rumours only.
Hopefully the USA won’t go on a rampage in the ME, as it sure looks right now that they could ignite the whole region there.
time will tell, I suppose
Somalia seems a possible choice. Muslim hatred of America, Al Qeda presence, we even had a movie on it. It was one of the biggest blockbusters of the year too. If Rove pulled off Iraq, think how easy Somalia would be since we have a movie on it.
Zimbabwe, Iran, Syria, North Korea, France, Canada, Nauru, Ganymede, some planet that may or may not orbit Barnard’s Star, the Crab Nebula, The Large Magellanic Cloud, and Inner Space!
I think our next real war will be in N Korea, in 5 or so years, and not really of our choosing. NK is going to get antsy and its jonesing for SK will eventually get the best of it. We’ll have to choose between warring against NK, or letting them take SK, and of course we’ll choose the latter.
I think it depends strongly on the outcome of the current conflict. I don’t doubt the US will win; but if victory comes at too high a price- Iraqi civilian casualties, world condemnation, a bloody, dirty guerilla war that drags on into the occupation- then support for “optional” wars is going to evaporate.
Iran and North Korea are the two top contenders. That is, if India and Pakistan don’t beat everyone to it. Iran’s transparent nuclear aspirations once again threaten the entire stability of the Middle East.
North Korea is only a few shades more despotic. The routine starvation of their own population while putting on extravagant and costly military parades is utterly despicable.
As greater numbers of North Korean refugees enter China it seems to be toning down any Sino saber rattling. I would like to think that China fully appreciates the immense threat that North Korea’s belligerence and nuclear aspirations represent to the entire Korean peninsula and surrounding region.
Properly?
Howbout Eritrea?
But seriously, Sudan.
No, no, please, Ethiopia.
OK, for real, Congo (Dem Rep. or original)
Yeah, alright, alright. Central African Republic.
Sorry, sorry! Won’t happen again.
Burundi.
I’m kidding, I’m kidding!
Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bisseau, Western S…
End a war, spend a bomb on aid, do real observable measurable good and make the world your friend (rather than your sworn, flag-burning, terrorising enemy).
I say Syria. For some pretty obvious reasons. I think there will be no military conflict with North Korea, as I think they are trying to do strong-arm diplomacy, as they cannot win a real military conflict.
Welby: Don’t think it would matter much.
OTOH, re Smiling Bandit, Syria sounds like a better candidate, just from the POV of being a smaller morsel to chew off.
My impression of this Admin is that they’re determined to insure that our long national nightmare of peace & prosperity - you know, the one we suffered through in the Nineties - never returns.
