The_Blur |
06-24-2009 10:20 PM |
I'm surprised to see no moderation in this thread.
I want to post a general warning. Politics has been banned from Camaro5. Be careful not to associate your patriotism with any political party or values that would represent a political agenda.
With that in mind, I will go ahead and point some things out regarding North Korea.
North Korea is technically still at a state of war with the United States because no peace treaty was ever signed after the Korean War. It is therefore feasible to conclude that the executive branch of the United States has the constitutional authority to initiate any act of war with North Korea at any time. In other words, President Obama does not need to seek Congressional approval in order to engage North Korea.
North Korea has weapons of mass destruction. Besides any nuclear material in the possession of this particular government, North Korea has a substantial chemical weapons arsenal. These weapons will make any conventional conflict with the nation very dangerous for troops. If the US is going to invade North Korea, these weapons will inflict massive casualties on American troops and North Korean civilians. It is possible that the press will hold the US accountable for such casualties, so it is important that any campaign is swift and decisive. With such a closed nation, intelligence is limited, so finding and destroying these weapons before their use is unlikely. In effect, it is reasonable to consider that an engagement with North Korea, while necessary, will be damaging to the image of the United States and those running its government because the use of weapons of mass destruction will inflict potentially massive casualties.
North Korea is a rogue state. Without any significant alliances, North Korea could not reasonably expect to win a major international conflict. The most likely allies for North Korea are Iran, Venezuela, Palestine, and Syria. Palestine has no military, and Syria would not engage the US without other Middle Eastern support because it has an impotent military force. Venezuela would seek agreements with OPEC nations to reduce oil output in a passive attempt to sanction the US, but Venezuela would not engage. Iran would only engage the US defensively because Iran has enough domestic turmoil that its military would be very occupied if a war happened in the coming weeks. North Korea, therefore, is largely alone. Even China is uneasy with North Korea's nuclear pursuits. The war would have at least two fronts, and then North Korea would fold. South Korea would unify with North Korea to form a new nation with increased influence in the region. That nation would likely follow a similar development path as the reunified Germany. North Korea will always follow South Korea industrially, but it will be part of a unified nation with a single democratic identity. In conclusion, if war breaks out in Korea, North Korea will lose. It might not be quick, but it will happen.
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