U.N.: N. Korea has 'just weeks'

[Dis]

we can't attack N. Korea!! They would kick our ass.

Iraq is a much easier target

[Zulu Elephant]

Taking out North Korea would not significantly destabilise the region. There are no significant chances of a civil war if North Korea is taken out

In the event of a US attack, North Korea has the capability to shoot the crap out of both Japan and South Korea with missiles

No U.S. Allies are significantly opposed to war in North Korea.

Except Japan and South Korea for the above reason

[chequita guevara]

N Korea would be a bloodbath, for both sides. Last time it cost us 35,000 men and the Koreans lost almost 2.5 million people and the entire infrastructure of the country was destroyed. Hell, the DPRK could even mount a serious offense, and severely damage the RoK.

Iraq will be more or less a push over. We might lose a few thousand men in Basra and Baghdad, but it will fall relatively quickly and easily. Since this is about politics and not a threat to our republic, Iraq goes down and the DPRK goes on.

[Capt Dizle]

North Korea's economy is failing. They can't last much longer and this nuclear ploy is an act of desperation.

[chequita guevara]

Their economy has been failing for decades. I don't expect them to collapse anytime soon. Then again, I didn't see 1989 coming, so who knows.

[Sava]

The US doesn't have the balls to go after NK in a real military operation, and no politician is going to commit political suicide in starting such a war. Seeing how we've been treating Iraq since 1998, with sanctions, I'm sure we'll just try to starve them into submission, probably not doing anything until millions of Koreans are starving to death each year. Nobody in the US or UN seems to care about the 500,000 Iraqis that have died since 1998, why would Koreans be any different? They aren't white people. That's two strikes against them. And no oil either... STRIKE THREE... man, those North Koreans are f**ked.

[Inverse Icarus]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Their economy has been failing for decades. I don't expect them to collapse anytime soon. Then again, I didn't see 1989 coming, so who knows.

yes che, where were you in 1989? and how old?

[Sava]

I was 9 ... let's see... GI Joe and Transformers... ahhh the good old days... OH YEAH, and playing "The Legend of Zelda", and Super Mario Brothers on Nintendo.

[GhengisFarbâ„¢]

Originally posted by Buck Birdseed
So, Americans, why exactly don't you attack North Korea instead of Iraq?

They'd nuke South Korea and Japan. While America wouldn't take many casualties (Remember Afghanistan? The US has pretty much figured out that Aircraft Carriers and Tomahawk missles don't kill any friendly soldiers if you leave the friendly soldiers at home.) her allies would become nuclear wasteland. Besides, NK has friends, not really close friends, but they do have aquaintences.

Its hard for Iraq to win friends when its already told every Arab nation that they're on Saddam's hit list.

Originally posted by Sava
Seeing how we've been treating Iraq since 1998, with sanctions, I'm sure we'll just try to starve them into submission, probably not doing anything until millions of Koreans are starving to death each year.

But that's the beauty of North Korea, the US doesn't have to do anything they starve themselves! A fully self starving, self embargoing bad guy, gotta love that.

Originally posted by Sava
Nobody in the US or UN seems to care about the 500,000 Iraqis that have died since 1998...

Nope.

And nobody outside the US cares about the Kurds the Iraqis have been gassing to death.

[DinoDoc]

No U.S. Allies are significantly opposed to war in North Korea.

My ass!

And Europeans accuse American of ignoring the world around them.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

NK will threaten to nuke Japan and Seul, and Bush will say, - even better, we need to get rid of that Japanese and Korean competition anyway... and this way noone will be able to blame us.

A good way to kickstart stale economy, eliminate Sony, Samsung and Toyota

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by UberKruX
yes che, where were you in 1989? and how old?

I was 22 and in Chicago at DePaul University.

[Andrew1999]

Look, it's quite simple. North Korea has the ability to hurt the U.S. Iraq doesn't. Therefore, the U.S. will fight Iraq but not North Korea. The lesson to anyone who might possibly end up on America's "Axis of Evil" list is to buy, beg, borrow, or steal nuclear weapons as soon as possible. And today's friends can be easily converted into tomorrow's enemies, so that's a pretty long list of countries that will want nuclear weapons.

[GhengisFarbâ„¢]

Originally posted by DinoDoc

No U.S. Allies are significantly opposed to war in North Korea.

My ass!

And Europeans accuse American of ignoring the world around them.

Who said Europeans were significant U.S. Allies?

Originally posted by Andrew1999
Look, it's quite simple. North Korea has the ability to hurt the U.S. Iraq doesn't. Therefore, the U.S. will fight Iraq but not North Korea. The lesson to anyone who might possibly end up on America's "Axis of Evil" list is to buy, beg, borrow, or steal nuclear weapons as soon as possible. And today's friends can be easily converted into tomorrow's enemies, so that's a pretty long list of countries that will want nuclear weapons.

Course, its easier to slip in some covert Special Ops unit to detonate said nuclear device in its silo..........

"What the heck just happened to the the Iraqi capital?"

US: "We told them not to be playing with nuclear weapons, now one had done blown up in their face....."

Oh well, I guess that's 1/5 of the world's oil supply we won't have to worry about anymore.

[Ned]

If North Korea does acquire nuclear weapons, I think South Korea has no choice but to also acquire nuclear weapons.

It will be interesting to see how the Chinese and the Japanese react to a nuclear South Korea. China seems very blase about a a nuclear North Korea. Will be just as blasé about a nuclear South Korea?

I think the possibility of a nuclear South Korea is what may, in the end, make China pursuade North Korea to desist.