News Can North Korea wage a total war against the United States?

[selfAdjoint]

Unfortunately, the US wouldn't be fighting the NK's on an open field. The Korean peninsula is composed largely of mountains and rice paddies. An attack during the rainy season (when the rice paddies are flooded) would confine US tanks and HMMWV's to a few main north-south roads (Highway 1 and a few others.) Since the NK forces aren't nearly as mechanized as the US/ROK forces in the south, this would be a huge advantage for them.

Finally, some hard sense on this topic. In 1953 the US had great arms superiority over the NK/Chinese; their troops were armed mainly with burp guns that wouldn't shoot straight, their artillery wis inaccurate and of limited range, and they used ponies for logistics. To top it off we had absolute command of the air over the battlefield. Yet they bogged us down and we were unable to take their capital. Read up on the Iron Triangle. Why? Those mountains frustrated our mechanized supply and the tanks and trucks couldn't make it up those rugged hillsides, and we ended up using GIs as pack animals (we could have used some ponies!). And the enemy were thoroughly dug in in interlocking tunnels and bunkers. To attack them was to walk into concentrated machine gun fire. World War I trench warfare all over again.

The People's Republic of North Korea has had fifty years to elaborate and enhance those emplacements. They are great diggers, as their frequently discovered tunnels across the demilitarized zone attest. Bradleys and Strykers aren't going to be any help. You're going to see the mightiest army in history bogged down again.

 

[spender]

USA treats your well only when one have nukes! that is the only thing they understand.
I'm so happy N.Koreans have them and hope Iranians get them soon before USA on orders from Israel attacks Iran .

 

[SOS2008]

Four more wars! Four more wars! Four more wars!

On paper, their military sounds formidable, in reality, its a paper tiger. Why? Money. They don't have any...

The U.S. national debt is now $7.6 trillion. Continued occupation of Iraq and efforts in Afghanistan is expected to cost $100 billion this year. (Not to mention $350 million in Tsunami aid which is likely to be increased further.)

The Army is desperate for recruits--enlistment has dropped dramatically. No, I woudn't worry about over extension.

The reason the U.S. has been low key with N. Korea is because Iran is slated for preemptive military action this summer. N. Korea does not have oil, they are not a threat to Israel, and are not sponsoring Islamic terrorists (that we know of). They will have to take a number and wait their turn.

As for China's fear of refugees flooding into their country, it would seem they may face the same problem the U.S. has with it's border. Of course they could just sell more of their products to the U.S. market to make up for it.

Perhaps we should focus on the real assess of evil and regime change right here at home.

"War is peace," "Freedom is slavery," and "Ignorance is strength." – The three slogans engraved in the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell's book "1984."

 

[spender]

Perhaps we should focus on the real assess of evil and regime change right here at home.

[/I]

Changing just the puppets in White House does not solve much,system needs to be changed 180*.
This nation is ripe for some kind of revolution a'la bolshevik or french one.

 

[MiGUi]

Wars are not won by nobody. Appart from that, I don't want to know if their nukes are real or not.

 

[Lyuokdea]

Wars are not won by nobody. Appart from that, I don't want to know if their nukes are real or not.

Wars are won and lost, obviously wars are horrible for both sides, and too many deaths result, but to say that there are never any winners in war is to discount the relative state of both sides after the war is over, and is really nothing more than a nice phrase of hippie prophaganda.

~Lyuokdea

 

[zeronem]

I think N. Korea would be a huge challenge in War. The reason why their people are starving is because N. Korea is feeding their military soldiers rather then their civilians. N. Korea is a military power. That's all that nation focuses on is their Military Power, it's all they have really. I would think again before thinking that N. Korea is just another Iraq. You go to war with them, your going to have a whole lot serious battling situation then that of Iraq. Not to mention the terrain of North Korea and such. To tell you now, the people of today do not want that kind of war, ever.

We've been warning N. Korea for the longest time to stop their Nuclear Weapon's Program. They know this very well, and now they taunt us by saying they have Nuclear Weapons. Does that not seem like they are asking for a war?

I'de be extremely careful about this situation.

 

[spender]

We've been warning N. Korea for the longest time to stop their Nuclear Weapon's Program. They know this very well, and now they taunt us by saying they have Nuclear Weapons. Does that not seem like they are asking for a war?

You ****ing kidding me right?.We have still long time till April's fools day.
Looks like someone here is the product of American educational system.

Listen dude ! Having nukes is like having air to breath.Iraq did not have any and look what happened to them !

 

[Wardw]

Yes we would win open conflict, our military is based on the fact if the enemy can't see you he can't hit you, but you can see him and blow him back into the stone age. Examples JADM's from near Earth orbit, Phoenix missiles from 115 miles away, Tomahawk cruse missiles from 690 mile away, well you get the point.

For what it's worth
No, the point is that what would be needed is boots on the ground after all the fireworks, and lots of them. We now know that this type of air superiority will not win the war.




There is no doubt that the allies would win, but only after a long drawn out slog which would no doubt cause both W and Tony to lose their jobs, the world's economies to go into recession and many South Koreans to lose their lives too. If they go for NK on their home turf, it will make Iraq look like a kindergarten break. And... those boots would find themselves in very unfamiliar territory. Once again in the wrong place with incorectly specified equipment, tactics and strategy.
Add to that the fact that the NK army are not in the same mindset as we are. This People has had had several generations of "education" read:brainwashing. Their reality is different from ours, it stops at their borders. Their fundamental understanding of the world as we know it to be in all it's different beliefs, customs, politics and social systems does not exist.
To them we all have horns.
It will be as it was, civilians will become active. Uniforms will tell you nothing about the enemy, because after a few months the "enemy" won't be wearing them.
They will fight like cats and dogs against any invader, their idology as it is at the moment will drive them. NK will not collapse as easily as Iraq.
Perhaps if China does not want Uncle Sam on the doorstep, now is the time for them to step up to the plate and pull Uncle Kim's plug.
But if he has nukes...ah well folks, now that's a different game. Are we dealing with a rational man here I think not. What could he do? dam near anything...

 

[SOS2008]

Changing just the puppets in White House does not solve much,system needs to be changed 180*.
This nation is ripe for some kind of revolution a'la bolshevik or french one.

The conservatives are not affected by reason or logic, or even their own well-being (economic, environmental, health, etc.). The progressives do not have religious Kool-Aid to serve up for a grass-roots movement, and are too disorganized and whimpy for revolution. We need a super power to help us with regime change.

 

[Chronos]

I suspect the Chinese are more deeply involved than most realize. It is a very unusual move on their part to take a leadership role in mediating the crisis. I also suspect they have excellent intel and could preemptively bring an end the threat, as well as the NK leadership, but would rather not go that route because of the refugee issue. The NK leadership should, and probably is much more fearful of the Chinese reaction to any foolhardy moves on their part. Were they to actually lob a nuke at anyone, P'yongyang would likely become the Chinese answer to the question 'What's flat and glows?'. I see this as nothing more than saber rattling. Kim is desperate to make a deal to bail out their abyssmal economy before some other parties decide to take matters into their own hands. I wouldn't even put it past Kim to stage his own coup and go into exile if the current bluff fails. An invasion order could easily backfire. It would be a logistical nightmare. Their supply lines would be severed almost immediately. The NK commanders would have no problem figuring out how long they could last before they were totally screwed. The generals just might conclude capturing their own capital is an imminently more achievable and surivable option.

 

[selfAdjoint]

Changing just the puppets in White House does not solve much,system needs to be changed 180*.
This nation is ripe for some kind of revolution a'la bolshevik or french one.

Aux armes, citoyens! A bas le Constitution!

BTW the Russian revolution was a fake. The previous regime had collapsed because of disastrous losses in WWI. Lenin just basically walked in and grabbed the unmanned levers of power. THEN they were attacked, of course, but that was "counterevolution"!

 

[russ_watters]

In addition to what Fred said, I'm not sure how scared Israel was (they can take care of themselves), but Saudia Arabia was so terrified they invited (begged??) the infidel, "Great Satan" to bring half a million troops there.

Regrading Gulf I, I think Gulf II might be a better analogy. Iraq wasn't invading, we were, but we attacked with ground forces early on day 2 and engaged Iraqi units within days. Most of the reason we are now capable of that is our bombing efficiency (now instead of stating it in terms of bombs per target, its stated in terms of targets per plane) has increased by something like an order of magnitude since Gulf I.

 

[russ_watters]

The reason the U.S. has been low key with N. Korea is because Iran is slated for preemptive military action this summer.

And you base that on...?

 

[russ_watters]

Wars are won and lost, obviously wars are horrible for both sides, and too many deaths result, but to say that there are never any winners in war is to discount the relative state of both sides after the war is over, and is really nothing more than a nice phrase of hippie prophaganda.

Indeed, I would even venture to say Germany emerged a winner in WWII. For West Germany, it was only about 5 years later - for the East, it took longer...

I think N. Korea would be a huge challenge in War. Your forgetting that they have the best Educational system in the world.

Huh?

 

[SOS2008]

And you base that on...?

My gut. Have faith, for God shall lead us... What, you want this substantiated with real facts or solid intelligence? Okay, it was from debate on the news--very flimsy I know.

 

[russ_watters]

My gut. Have faith, for God shall lead us... What, you want this substantiated with real facts or solid intelligence? Okay, it was from debate on the news--very flimsy I know.

Fair enough. I do have some words from politicians (which, admittedly, must always be taken with a grain of salt) and a few facts about the status of our military. But the bottom line is its all up to Bush, and as unpredictable as we all know he is, he may yet surprise me.

I have a saying regarding schedules or predictions I took with me from when I was in the Navy: nothing is certain until its happened (or, in this case, hasn't happened).

 

[Moonbear]

But the bottom line is its all up to Bush, and as unpredictable as we all know he is, he may yet surprise me.

*rubs eyes, squints, reads again*

Did our favorite card-carrying Republican defender of Bush actually just admit that Bush is unpredictable? There's hope for you yet!

 

[zeronem]

My Fault, It's South Korea that Ranks #1 in best Education of the world.

http://invest.vic.gov.au/Press+Room/News/Australian+education+ranks+among+the+world's+top+five.htm

 

[vanesch]

We need a super power to help us with regime change.

I'll see what I can do. I'll have Uncle Kim on the phone this afternoon. But I can't promise anything...