The White House is considering direct military action to counter North Korea
Source: Business Insider
In a dramatic shift from traditional policy, an internal White House review on North Korean strategy revealed that the option to use military force or a regime change to curb the threat of North Korean nuclear weapons was on the table, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
This review comes at the heels of a report claiming President Donald Trump believes the "greatest immediate threat" to the US was North Korea's nuclear program.
Recent provocations from the Hermit Kingdom, including the ballistic missile launch in the Sea of Japan and the assassination of Kim Jong Un's estranged half-brother in Malaysia, may have provoked this shift in the policy that have many officials and US allies worried.
"North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S. It won't happen!" Trump tweeted in January. Several weeks later, North Korea conducted its missile test.
Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-white-house-is-considering-direct-military-action-to-counter-north-korea/ar-AAnH0yC?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp
Trump needs a war. This is why he was proposing a huge increase in defense when we were at peace. He is going to start a war. We just need some country to volunteer to be Trump's international scapegoat.
MFM008
(19,818 posts)two bloated turds to start something.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Actually both. Supposedly China's not happy with NK, and U.S. aggression in its neighborhood would "distract" China big time too.
mobeau69
(11,152 posts)Roy Rolling
(6,925 posts)ffr
(22,671 posts)Bet nobody gets any sleep tonight. They're all spinning this as best they can and getting their lying stories straight for tomorrow.
HOLY CRAP!
TheDebbieDee
(11,119 posts)FailureToCommunicate
(14,019 posts)JenniferJuniper
(4,512 posts)Hoyt
(54,770 posts)TomCADem
(17,390 posts)Trump/Bannon wanted a war anyways. The fact that this would take away attention from all of the scandals and hate mongering in the Trump administration is just a bonus. Heck, Nazi Germany had to invent an invasion from Poland. All Trump would have to do is take North Korea's numerous threats literally and start a war saying, "Hey, they said that they were going to wipe us out, so we struck first."
wcmagumba
(2,886 posts)not so much...
still_one
(92,325 posts)we are this stupid
Feeling that big red target on our asses over here in the Pacific too.
Realizing their missiles are not so accurate. Still.
TomCADem
(17,390 posts)Plus, now Ryan and McConnell are in too deep covering up for Trump.
still_one
(92,325 posts)Ryan and McConnell they are both cowards, and will throw trump overboard if it looks like the whole ship is going down
TomCADem
(17,390 posts)...unlike Nixon, if Ryan and McConnell try to throw Trump off the island, Trump would take them down with him as well. The White House has already been caught coordinating its cover up with Nunes in the House and Burr in the Senate. They are joined at the hip.
still_one
(92,325 posts)just say they were not involved, and didn't try to cover up anything, and the good ole boys in Congress would protect them. Priebus, on the other hand is more vulnerable.
Maybe you are right, and they will all start to fall like dominos
TomCADem
(17,390 posts)...Trump has shown his willingness to attack the very foundations of our Democracy. I do not see Trump walking away if Ryan/McConnell turn on him. More likely, he would go after them with all the powers of the Presidency in a manner that would make Nixon blush.
still_one
(92,325 posts)see this going away on its own
Fast Walker 52
(7,723 posts)which is why we have never done anything against NK before.
briv1016
(1,570 posts)You know, North Korea's main trading partner a large holder of our national debt.
dalton99a
(81,565 posts)as soon as it is attacked.
tenorly
(2,037 posts)It would give them the perfect causus belli and might just guarantee them reelection (to say nothing of all the profiteering). After all, it worked for Bush.
TomCADem
(17,390 posts)If he is on the verge of being impeached or convicted, I have no doubt that he would start a war in a heart beat. He has no moral compass whatsoever.
mahina
(17,691 posts)Is that they couldn't give a care about anybody else.
sinkingfeeling
(51,469 posts)USA was that undocumented chicken de-boner up at the Tyson plant. He ran a stop sign at 3AM last Friday.
AJT
(5,240 posts)South Korea may not like that idea.....
yodermon
(6,143 posts)yurbud
(39,405 posts)than us.
Even if the US "wins," South Korea would lose.
KingCharlemagne
(7,908 posts)Republic of China right next door. We are setting ourselves up for a major ass-kicking that will make Vietnam look like a tiny skirmish.
yurbud
(39,405 posts)In the Korean War, when we advanced to the border with China, that was too close for them.
And China didn't need to match our tech or weapons. They had so many troops, they could keep coming at us until we ran out of ammunition and then just smack us on the head with shovels, and they drove us almost completely off the peninsula.
To avoid a rerun, we didn't send ground troops into North Vietnam, we just bombed the crap out of them, which was a recipe for a stalemate.
KingCharlemagne
(7,908 posts)a very morally-mixed endeavor. I've seen estimates that our bombing of North Korea killed and wounded an enormous number of civilians. Been awhile since I read up on it, so I don't have precise figures at hand.
yurbud
(39,405 posts)that is likely closing again with the roll out of the New Cold War.
I hope it fizzles the way the War on Terror did, only a lot faster.
cstanleytech
(26,312 posts)of starting any shit with N. Korea.
zentrum
(9,865 posts)45 needs one.
The MSM loves them.
Way to silence all critics!!
global1
(25,263 posts)Someone or some body must contain Trump now. If he feels he's being backed into a corner he will lash out and maybe do something stupid. His Party or the Military needs to step up and prevent something stupid from happening. I still think a peaceful military coup will happen if this gets any more out of hand. The Generals yesterday didn't look to happy when listening to Trump's speech. Especially when it looks like Trump is blaming them for the failed Yemen raid.
Trump has picked fights with the wrong people. First the intelligence agencies. Then the media. And now the Generals and the Military. He's pissing to many people off. People in positions that can use leaks to take him out. This is really getting interesting.
I agree with the above posts that Trump is using NK as a distraction to take the Russian thingy off the front pages. A couple of weeks ago our biggest threat were the seven countries in his ban. Isn't that what he said? We had to initiate that ban immediately before they came into the country to carry out terrorist attacks.
Now all of a sudden this ban isn't as important and they can push it back for a few days to savor in the glow of his teleprompter speech.
Then these stories break tonight about Sessions and Obama saving the intelligence - and all of a sudden NK becomes our biggest threat.
No - our biggest threat is Trump himself.
KingCharlemagne
(7,908 posts)watch Stone's JFK.
LisaM
(27,820 posts)They can just resume it.
joet67
(624 posts)Marie Marie
(9,999 posts)After all, he has the BEST people. I'm going to crawl under the covers now.
C Moon
(12,221 posts)KeepItReal
(7,769 posts)If they tried to use any of the handful(?) of nukes they have (to what end?), we have sub, air and land-based nukes to wipe NK off the map.
I distinctly remember a pre-Iraq invasion article that stated that US Intelligence felt that even if Saddam had WMD, he was not suicidal and would not use them against other countries as a first-strike weapon - and would only use them if Iraq, itself, was invaded.
Eyeball_Kid
(7,433 posts)But Trumpy sees in NK the ultimate distraction. I think that Mattis will walk out before coordinating an attack. He's seen NK's posturing before. It's always the same.
KeepItReal
(7,769 posts)Eyeball_Kid
(7,433 posts)nikibatts
(2,198 posts)meadowlander
(4,399 posts)They can't be thrilled about having an unstable dictatorship with nuclear weapons on their boundary.
Is NK a country they are still trying to bring under their influence or do they have treaties that would incline them to side with NK if the shit hit the fan?
yurbud
(39,405 posts)yurbud
(39,405 posts)Russia since they keep us distracted.
If the major powers are having peaceful relations, then it's in everyone's interests to talk North Korea off the ledge.
phleshdef
(11,936 posts)Deep down, China sees North Korea as a potential threat to their own stability and they will move if a move is needed.
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)We preferred the bumbling North Korea leaders because a strong Noth Korean government might revitalize the country but ultimately align with China, which could in the end further destabilize the region.
pfitz59
(10,386 posts)Steven King had Trump pegged 30 years ago....
bucolic_frolic
(43,249 posts)He asked in the campaign why we can't use nuclear weapons. Now he wants
to confront a nuclear power, and is expanding our arsenal. Never a doubt.
DeadLetterOffice
(1,352 posts)He really is gonna get us all killed, isn't he?
Well, that's certainly one way of taking care of the GOP's pesky town-hall problem.
lark
(23,138 posts)Notice things like this come out when more Russian favoring treachery is uncovered. Oh, look over here at this shiny nugget, forget that silly stuff about Putin, sayeth the orange assface.
I don't think even drumpf is stupid enough to want a war with NK, but easily could be wrong about that. I thought for sure it'd be Iran, and sadly could be them too. He's going to destroy us for his own profit, if he isn't stopped.
Vinca
(50,300 posts)This is a dangerous man with dangerous weapons in a dangerous time. He has to be impeached.
Javaman
(62,532 posts)former9thward
(32,064 posts)You may wish to look at a map.
Javaman
(62,532 posts)you refuse to read your history.
who administrated N. Korea after world war two? RUSSIA.
now go away and stop being rude.
KingCharlemagne
(7,908 posts)World War II. Where do you get that idea?
Koreans administered North Korea after World War II and the defeat of imperial Japan.
Javaman
(62,532 posts)Russia.
now please stop being rude.
it's very unattractive.
KingCharlemagne
(7,908 posts)former9thward
(32,064 posts)When was that? We are at war in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and have been for years. We have been and are conducting other strikes by drones and otherwise in several other countries. I guess all that is easy to ignore.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)about the MIC. It's just too profitable.
get the red out
(13,468 posts)Blowing stuff up should put Russia on the back burner!
Ligyron
(7,639 posts)The prudent action, if we were going to take such against NK, would be to massively increase US military forces in the area. Not necessarily in the Korean peninsula itself in case of nucs. This would take time and won't work to take the Russian stuff off the front pages anytime soon.
I too would expect some generals resigning before carrying out a first strike option. Mathis first.
PearliePoo2
(7,768 posts)If so, and BLOTUS does a preemptive strike of some kind, what are the chances North Korea sends their nuke-tipped birds flying to Japan and South Korea?
luvMIdog
(2,533 posts)muntrv
(14,505 posts)KingCharlemagne
(7,908 posts)he was gravely wounded. He says the North Korean soldiers were the toughest fighters he's ever met. Coming from my Jarhead Dad, that's high and sobering praise indeed. Does Trump think invading North Korea is going to be like invading Iraq? If so, we are setting ourselves up for a serious ass-kicking. And no way is the People's Republic of China going to stand by idly while we wage a land war on its borders.
INdemo
(6,994 posts)if N Korea is attacked?
KingCharlemagne
(7,908 posts)turbinetree
(24,710 posts)and his actions, is to send out this "stuff" to deflect with what is on going issues with Russia crisis, that is becoming attainable.
He apparently has at least 3 cabinet individuals that have given aid and comfort to Russia, Jefferson Beauregard Session, Wilbur Ross , and Rex Tillerson, and even his lackey sons Eric and Donald Jr, and brother n law, Jared Kusher, and this doesn't include the White Nationalist Steven Bannon and Stephen Miller, and the sofa Queen Kelly-Anne CONway, or Reice Prebus, and then to add to this mix of nefarious acts of deceit and deception we have Ace Bannon / Mike Pence, and Eddie Munster / Ayn Rand Paul Ryan, and finally the turtle Mitch McConnell and the entire republican establish doing exactly what, nothing, looking like bobbleheads on the dash of car attacking the citizens of this country who have health care, when sitting behind this sexual predator, when he gave his campaign speech in the state of the right wing union white nationalist speech. And then the media coming out and saying he had good tone and looked presidential ---------------FU and the "normalization".
So he was at a dinner with some "friends" NOT in the situation room watching the event unfold in real time in Yemen, when 23 children and, one highly trained navy seal were killed in botched raid, and the loss of a 75 million dollar V-22 Osprey aircraft, and this doesn't include other so called expenses, and then he goes into a political platform and they all stand up and clap on the death----------amazing, not heads bowed or moment of silence and grief, but clapping for some political gain and that screen shots .
Then this "guy" likes to go down to Mar A Lago and burn thru $206,000 of jet fuel on a big "old" 747-200 per hour, and all that expenses to play golf, and have classified documents photographed while at a table, and have staff that has or has not been vetted for security purposes.
So now there is a leaked memo, that the guy that wants to make america great again, he is "thinking" of sending people into harms way, this is now became a CHARACTER issue. He has no business bringing on a war, he has no clue.
The above description is just a brief 40 day examination of a complete failure of leadership, and since zippy the clown wants to deflect and try and maybe do this, then everyone in this right wing Congress and this illegitimate president need to be taken to task. What would they do, if no one and I mean no one showed up to fight to go to war.
Then we as a people demand a vote in and from Congress to authorize this BS and to declare, war. This is not some half ass wars power act, this idiot will bring China into this conflagration.
Again, we the People demand that this right wing do nothing criminal congress present an Amendment to Declare War on North Korea, and this idiot must go before a joint house of Congress and ask for that resolution----------------if they are going to do this then accountability must be seen on that floor of the democratic republic and to follow the CONSTITUTION--------------again this is just amazing on the total lack of CHARACTER of what leadership entails.
And when he makes the phone call on his unsecured phone to the president of South Korea, is this clown going to say, since we are still in a state of war to protect you since 1951-1953 lets finish it now, you know I do have a beef with China taking jobs from us--------------------
Aristus
(66,436 posts)He's not pulling the dewy-eyed "We have to save those poor people!" shit about a country swimming in petroleum.
Other than that, it's going to be the standard "start a war to kill off strong, healthy non-rich people who might be capable of leading an insurrection" ploy.
raven mad
(4,940 posts)here in Alaska are at "condition yellow".
The sTrumpet Misadministration is suffering from an overload of dumbfuckism.
C_U_L8R
(45,014 posts)Old Trumpstain would start WWIII just to evade impeachment or jail