The Dear Leader is playing with his artillery

[giblets]

For one thing, the neocons blew all their political capital on Iraq.

[Al B. Sure!]

I'm shocked South Korea hasn't invaded the North yet. If someone sank a US ship and shelled one of our cities we'd be bombing them to the stone age before you could say "strongly condemned".

Given that the US has a bunch of troops and a fleet already deployed to the region, I don't think it would take more than a day or two to topple the North's government.

Oh really?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident

The USS Liberty incident was an attack on a United States Navy technical research ship, USS Liberty, by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy torpedo boats, on June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War.[2] The combined air and sea attack killed 34 crew members (naval officers, seamen, two Marines, and one civilian), wounded 170 crew members, and severely damaged the ship.[3] At the time, the ship was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, about 25.5 nmi (29.3 mi; 47.2 km) northwest from the Egyptian city of Arish.[1][4]

Should have nuked Israel in 1967 then.

[Al B. Sure!]

Oh and since Israel is always shelling/bombing Lebanese cities, Lebanon should go all gung-ho and smack Israel around, right? Oh wait.

[giblets]

Oh and since Israel is always shelling/bombing Lebanese cities, Lebanon should go all gung-ho and smack Israel around, right? Oh wait.

Is this supposed to be a parallel to the situation in Korea?

[Hauldren Collider]

If it was that easy who's holding back the US?

South Korea?

[Hauldren Collider]

Oh really?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Liberty_incident

Should have nuked Israel in 1967 then.

That was a friendly fire incident. Don't pull a halflotus on me, I'm not interested in conspiracy theories.

[Argus]

Rather than openly attacking North Korea, we should demoralize the enemy from within by surprise, terror, sabotage, and assassination. This is the war of the future.

[Al B. Sure!]

Is this supposed to be a parallel to the situation in Korea?

Only if North Korean troops also invaded and occupied half of South Korea for 20 years.

[BeBMan]

South Korea?

I'd rather buy "China" as an argument. South Korea does only exist because of US involvment in the region so I doubt they really have the last say what happens....thing is, nobody seems to be willing to go to war over Korea, including the US, because it could come at quite a high price.

[giblets]

Only if North Korean troops also invaded and occupied half of South Korea for 20 years.

So in an alternate universe your example would be relevant? Considering that South Korea's military budget is several times larger than the North's, it seems like they could conquer the north if they really wanted to.

[Al B. Sure!]

That was a friendly fire incident. Don't pull a halflotus on me, I'm not interested in conspiracy theories.

Conspiracy theories?

Dean Rusk, Secretary of State at the time:

I was never satisfied with the Israeli explanation. Their sustained attack to disable and sink Liberty precluded an assault by accident or some trigger-happy local commander. Through diplomatic channels we refused to accept their explanations. I didn't believe them then, and I don't believe them to this day. The attack was outrageous

Captain Ward Boston, JAGC, US Navy, senior counsel for the Court of Inquiry regarding the incident:

The evidence was clear. Both Admiral Kidd and I believed with certainty that this attack, which killed 34 American sailors and injured 172 others, was a deliberate effort to sink an American ship and murder its entire crew. Each evening, after hearing testimony all day, we often spoke our private thoughts concerning what we had seen and heard. I recall Admiral Kidd repeatedly referring to the Israeli forces responsible for the attack as 'murderous bastards.' It was our shared belief, based on the documentary evidence and testimony we received first hand, that the Israeli attack was planned and deliberate, and could not possibly have been an accident.

Admiral Tom Moorer:

To suggest that they [the IDF] couldn't identify the ship is ... ridiculous. Anybody who could not identify the Liberty could not tell the difference between the White House and the Washington Monument

I wasn't aware that a Secretary of State, a JAG Captain who was involved in the investigation, and a US Navy Admiral are conspiracy loons.

You're a real patriot, HC. A real patriot. 34 American sailors and Marines...

[BeBMan]

Considering that South Korea's military budget is several times larger than the North's, it seems like they could conquer the north if they really wanted to.

Depends if the North is really having nukes or if they're only bluffing about them.

[Al B. Sure!]

So in an alternate universe your example would be relevant? Considering that South Korea's military budget is several times larger than the North's, it seems like they could conquer the north if they really wanted to.

What the hell are you talking about?

I'm pointing out the hypocrisy in HC's position that a country that gets shelled by a neighbor should go in and take them out by noting how Israel has repeatedly shelled Lebanon and invaded Lebanon but the Lebanese government has been powerless to stop them, to say nothing of being unable to invade Israel in response.

[giblets]

What the hell are you talking about?

I'm pointing out the hypocrisy in HC's position that a country that gets shelled by a neighbor should go in and take them out by noting how Israel has repeatedly shelled Lebanon and invaded Lebanon but the Lebanese government has been powerless to stop them, to say nothing of being unable to invade Israel in response.

Hypocrisy? Where has he said that it would be unacceptable for the Lebanese army to invade Israel in retaliation?

[Al B. Sure!]

Considering that South Korea's military budget is several times larger than the North's, it seems like they could conquer the north if they really wanted to.

No. It wouldn't make sense for South Korea to devote resources to try to annex/democratize/modernize the North. It would be like the US annexing Mexico. Why would we want an impoverished and backwards addition to our country? North Korea would just drag South Korea down if they were to take it over.

Security is the only real concern for South Korea. I don't imagine South Koreans are gung-ho about unification.