Most reports have presented North Korea’s nuclear retaliatory capabilities as a rapidly advancing part of their military, and one which may preclude a unilateral US attack against them. Secretary of Defense James Mattis has rejected that idea.
On Friday, Mattis said analysis of the most recent North Korean test launch, the one that led many to conclude they could reach anywhere in the mainland United States, was not “shown to be a capable threat against us right now.”
Mattis did not elaborate on what about the North Korean tests was lacking as far as presenting them as a capable threat. Past reports, however, questioned North Korea’s capacity to steer such weapons accurately at long range.
Some officials also questioned whether North Korea had the ability to shield a nuclear warhead during re-entry, with South Korea saying the North needed to “prove” that. How they’d prove that short of legitimately firing an above-ground nuclear ICBM, is not clear.
Mattis’ disavowal of North Korea’s capabilities may be informing the White House opposition to the State Department’s diplomatic overtures to North Korea, convincing Trump that direct talks aren’t an immediate priority.
Does that mean that I can get out from under my desk now? I am not going to be nuked immediately?
Maybe tomorrow. The story changes every other day it seems.
Did you duct tape the windows?;-)
Nope there is still Iran and don’t forget Russia who has 2000 warheads capable of accurate targeting in the USA.
N. Korea on the otherhand couldn’t hit the N American continent at this point and can’t carry a nuke in their rockets in any case.
So that’s all right then. We are safe-who cares about our allies in South Korea, our 28000 American troops close to the 38th parallel and their families, our ally Japan which we value so much that we station unwanted troops there permanently? Let’s have a little nuclear war as long as we are not hurt.
Don’t you think that this is all by design? The last thing that the Neocons, Zionists, and generals in Trump’s inner circle want is a negotiated settlement with North Korea. That would deprive them of their next f-ing war, which will be SO profitable for the MIC and the banksters.
Yes, the MIC will get to sell weapons, and we’ll no longer have to contend with all those high quality Korean and Japanese electronics and vehicles that Americans can no longer afford anyway. It’s a win-win!
This doesn’t solve Trump’s problem. He’s spent the entire year making blood-curdling threats about “destroying” North Korea. Meanwhile NK has continued doing nukes tests and missile tests. They’re undoubtedly going to do more.
So Trump starts to look like all talk and no action. He shuts down every attempt at negotiation by Tillerson. But he doesn’t launch any attack, either small or large.
At some point Trump either has to blink and negotiate or attack. That point is coming soon. Another two NK missile tests or another nuke test and Trump will have to fish or cut bait. He can’t keep up this play-acting forever.
As for Tillerson, it’s pretty clear he’s on his way out. Even if Trump is using him to play “good cop, bad cop”, he’s been almost useless. His Russian experience has been completely irrelevant since the primary crisis is North Korea. I don’t think he’ll be in office this time next year – maybe even by spring.
It’s clear that the goal of the US is to seize North Korea’s six to ten trillion dollars of undeveloped mineral resources. It’s all about the money. The problem is that there is an excellent chance any invasion of NK will be an unmitigated disaster if not an actual loss ending up with either confronting China directly or if that is avoided an insurgency that will make Iraq and Afghanistan look like a tea party.
It’s pretty clear the Pentagon knows that North Korea’s terrain is about the worst possible for an invading force – all mountains and steep valleys. Not to mention a motivated million man army with 100-200,000 hard-core Special Forces, five thousand tanks and 20,000 artillery, submarines, etc. Not even the use of nukes can take out that large an enemy force without serious casualties – even if most of those casualties will be South Korean forces since the US has almost no one to send to assist other than one division and a couple light brigade.
But Trump is stupid and ignorant enough to go through with it. But he’s going to have to decide within the next 12 months.
Lets not forget the value of NK mountains to NATO THAADs over China and Russia.
Trump’s not stupid or ignorant; he hasn’t gone in yet, despite the pressure to ‘do something’.
There’s also the problem that Trump’s enemies don’t want any solution that would make Trump look good. Quite the contrary, they need a failed war or some other disaster to make Trump step down.
Whatever Trump’s doing right or wrong in foreign policy, he’s acutely aware of domestic politics.
The Deep State knows it can never conquer DPRK. The US military won’t be able to defeat DPRK, and even if it could, Russia and/or China would then intervene.
However, a nice prolonged border skirmish would be fine. It will probably cost a couple million Korean lives, but it will be “worth it.” Chaos is always good for the institutional imperatives of the MIC.
Okay, team, let’s get it straight for once. Either we’re perfectly safe, nothing to worry about, move along… or we’re minutes away from nuclear armageddon at the hands of North Korea. If we think North Korea is on the verge of attacking us, let’s go all General Ripper on him and send the boys in to give us a good head start with a few hundred megatons worth of diplomacy. If not, shut the F up and quit scaring the bejeezus out of everyone with A-bomb porn.
Where is the motive in this thinking? Why would they attack anyone, its not like they have done any such thing in the last 50 years.
Maybe its just a diversion from the real story that Trump wants to sweep under the rug.
After all the USA cannot fight N Korea and still do the Zionist bidding with Iran
What’s to stop North Korea from secretly putting a nuke on a submarine or even a container ship headed for San Francisco? Use your feeble imagination, Mattis! where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Vietnam won the “American War” because they were innovative, motivated, and willing to sacrifice their own lives by the millions to drive the aggressors out of their country. Americans can’t deal with an enemy like that. We will lose the next Korean War and it will be a catastrophe for South Korea, Japan, the world’s economy… and US!