North Korea threatens US with a pre-emptive nuclear strike.

[Macro]

I can't help but feel there'd be a lot less of this sort of BS if international law made it legal to assassinate the leader and cabinet or ruling council of any country initiating military action not approved by the UN security council. Want to declare war? Sure, but you take the same chances as the squaddies on the front line!

Unfair? Maybe but better to lose a few politicians than hundreds or thousands of civilians.

Now, where's Bond when we need him, we may have a job for him

 

[ubersonic]

I can't help but feel there'd be a lot less of this sort of BS if international law made it legal to assassinate the leader and cabinet or ruling council of any country initiating military action not approved by the UN security council.

You mean China, France, Russia, America and Britain? yes I see how that would fix the world

Now, where's Bond when we need him, we may have a job for him

Last time he was sent to NK he got caught and it put the franchise on ice

 

[Macro]

You mean China, France, Russia, America and Britain? yes I see how that would fix the world

Sure, why not. Perhaps it's time that politicians take the same risks and responsibilities for their actions they ask troops to. Can't help but feel there'd be a lot less of this stuff if a politician thought they might actually have to pay a price as well as the young men and women they order into action.

Self defence and UN Security council sanctioned action excepted...

Ok, I'm being facetious and of course the world is more complicated than thtn.. But still....

 

[Nelly]

North Korea Warns Of 'Merciless' Nuclear Strike

North Korea's army says it has approval to attack the US as America moves a missile defence system to Guam.

The North Korean military says it has "ratified" a merciless attack against the United States, potentially involving a "cutting-edge" nuclear strike.

"The moment of explosion is approaching fast," the army said in a statement on state news agency KCNA.

War could break out "today or tomorrow," the statement said, quoting a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People's Army.

"The merciless operation of (our) revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified.

"The US had better ponder over the prevailing grave situation."

Source >> http://news.sky.com/story/1073563/north-korea-warns-of-merciless-nuclear-strike

 

[arknor]

"cutting-edge" what they going to do cover the nuke in bic razors

 

[MaximusV]

The US missile defense ship they've sent will fail, the nuke will hit and the US will blame it on the Taliban.

 

[StriderX]

I like how the Prime minister is saying this is enough validation for trident, a loud mouth despot with 50s technology and 5000/6000 miles of surface between us...

Nope, that's too scary for a world power like us, must spend public money.

 

[Fenris]

a loud mouth despot?

You can call him whatever you want, he still has access to weapons capable of leveling large potions of civilization and possibly the short sightedness to use them.

 

[Strife212]

They can't use a nuke.

Even if they managed to get a completely working nuke and delivery system, what's going to happen?

They hit a US city with a nuke, completely destroying it.

Then what? The other NNPT powers turn NK into glass. It's a joke.

 

[RDM]

China were nothing back then to the US and have only emerged as a super power in the last couple of decades

China became a nuclear power in 1964 and have been permanent members of the UNSC since 1971. Somewhat longer than "the last couple of decades".

The intervention of the PVA pretty much stopped North Korea's defeat in the Koran War. China were far from "nothing".

 

[Rroff]

They can't use a nuke.

Even if they managed to get a completely working nuke and delivery system, what's going to happen?

They hit a US city with a nuke, completely destroying it.

Then what? The other NNPT powers turn NK into glass. It's a joke.

Turning NK into glass wouldn't wipe out their military capabilities, you'd kill a huge number of civilians but if they do have a payload delivery system they'd retaliate by doing the same to SK. Even if they didn't the fallout would massively affect china and SK which wouldn't go down well.

NK have the upper hand in this regard, any pre-emptive strike would have to be a quick, surgical attack to take out their nuclear capabilities, backed up with solid intel so make sure the job was done right first time and any retaliation would be extremely messy for anyone involved.

 

[StriderX]

You can call him whatever you want, he still has access to weapons capable of leveling large potions of civilization and possibly the short sightedness to use them.

I cant tell if that is sarcasm, so ill just assume that it might be.

Why cant we move the money from Trident to researching/developing defences instead?

The advantages of that are pretty obvious, as most military technology will have a civilian use at some point, nuclear weapons have no other usage now, they're just savage bloat from an era of egotistical nonsense.

Hell the weapons aren't even ours, its just another leash from our good friends in the west, so in reality we spend money to protecting American bombs, i see it as laughable when people try being patriotic about it.

What would be the US's reaction to a nuclear launch from a pointless nation today anyway? they would just shoot it down and invade (perhaps not, but i doubt they would give up a chance to do so).

The logic was sound in the past, but it just isn't today.

I realise the futility if any arguing about this, so i wont bother beyond the initial reasoning's, eventually anyone with such a attitude will become irrelevant as the population thins out.

 

[Fenris]

I realise the futility if any arguing about this, so i wont bother beyond the initial reasoning's, eventually anyone with such a attitude will become irrelevant as the population thins out.

Well it is futile in that I was not commenting on Trident or our choice to maintain a nuclear arsenal, neither do I have ANY interest in arguing about the topic. Take your self righteous attitude and high horse elsewhere, I find the part of your post I quoted particularly insulting as it seemed to have been aimed at me as a result of a post one sentence long. You do not know my opinion on the subject and honestly after that post I have no interest in giving it to you.

I was commenting on how you seem to take the leader of a rogue nation with access to nuclear weapons lightly, regardless of how absurd their rhetoric is.

 

[StriderX]

Well it is futile in that I was not commenting on Trident or our choice to maintain a nuclear arsenal, neither do I have ANY interest in arguing about the topic.

I was commenting on your comment which implies that you take the leader of a rogue nation with access to nuclear weapons lightly, regardless of how absurd their rhetoric is.

Its only light due to blatantly obvious errors in that rhetoric.

They have been known to doing this for decades, mark down for that.

Their technology is almost barbarian in standards to our own, mark down for that.

Their leader is fat, mark down for that.

Just saying, its hard to really give a damn.

 

[Strife212]

Ballistic missile defense is awful. It's far from guaranteed that anyone would be able to shoot down a missile from NK.

 

[FoxEye]

Ballistic missile defense is awful. It's far from guaranteed that anyone would be able to shoot down a missile from NK.

I'm no military buff, but from the little bit I've read it would seem that all missile defence systems have a pretty low probability of success.

There was a news story recently involving a missile defence system that cost billions. Some expert was saying that there was a good chance that the system had failed completely, but that this info would never be released to the general public due to the amount of money sunk into it. Think it was Israel?

 

[Rroff]

Its only light due to blatantly obvious errors in that rhetoric.

They have been known to doing this for decades, mark down for that.

Their technology is almost barbarian in standards to our own, mark down for that.

Their leader is fat, mark down for that.

Just saying, its hard to really give a damn.

Still it would be foolish to under-estimate them - kim jong un seems to be trying to make a name for himself, possibly feels under the shadow of his father and grandfather and if he doesn't get the attention he wants he might keep pushing til he does.

 

[Rroff]

I'm no military buff, but from the little bit I've read it would seem that all missile defence systems have a pretty low probability of success.

There was a news story recently involving a missile defence system that cost billions. Some expert was saying that there was a good chance that the system had failed completely, but that this info would never be released to the general public due to the amount of money sunk into it. Think it was Israel?

Israel's latest defence system works pretty well - tho it was extremely costly to develop - its a whole different story tho trying to stop missiles going outwards from a country like NK compared to preventing them coming inbound to a fairly small area of land that is Israel.

 

[Somnambulist]

NK won't do anything unless China lets them. China can turn off their lights with the flip of a switch, including ones necessary to run the government/war machine.

Back in 2008/2009, when Kim Senior did some crazy **** that went just beyond the line, some nameless Chinese ambassador was sent to NK for like a day and Kim immediately toned down his rhetoric for a while.

By the same token, they can threaten to take off the leash if they don't get their way in the sea of Japan/with Taiwan. China as a player is too big to threaten directly, even if they do stuff nobody likes. But by that token, it behooves China to use bargaining chips and proxies instead of acting directly, to maintain a facade of good relations to keep investment flowing. China wants Asia-Pacific dominance and a continuing flow of resources from all parts of the world. NK is a usable lever.

They'll probably just end up telling them to pipe down though.

 

[dunker]

"all southern koreans must leave the industrial complex by the 10th"

have lota af popcorn ready but don't think i'm gonna need it for a long time.