Escalating tension has experts simulating a new Korean War, and the scenarios are sobering

LA Times ^ | September 25, 2017 | Barbara Demick

[C19fan]

This is the way a nuclear war begins.

Simulations of a war on the Korean peninsula usually start with a relatively minor incident at the demilitarized zone between South Korea and its hostile northern neighbor, or a provocation that develops into a conventional war and then escalates.

President Trump’s threatening posture toward North Korea — most recently exhibited at the United Nations, where he warned that the U.S. could “totally destroy” the country — has prompted military strategists to examine what would actually happen if a war broke out.

[C19fan]

Downtown Seoul is only 35 miles from the DMZ with suburbs encroaching on the DMZ itself.

[robroys woman]

I really see the Norks as a paper tiger, that won’t stop roaring.

[Pravious]

President Trump’s threatening posture toward North Korea — most recently exhibited at the United Nations, where he warned that the U.S. could “totally destroy” the country — has prompted military strategists to examine what would actually happen if a war broke out.
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How convenient of them to leave out the little fact that President Trump’s “totally destroy” comment was contingent on North Korea attacking us or our allies first.

[z3n]

BS

If this thing starts, it will not be a series of escallating stages. Trump and top military people have already telegraphed that this will be an all-or-nothing affair. This is true brinkmanship. Kim needs to face the fact that if he initiates war, the U.S. has no choice but to assure his complete and immediate neutralization.

[Red Badger]

A properly time attack, considering Time Over Target, North Korea would be totally neutralized within a matter of minutes......................

[pgkdan]

The conflict that Stavridis envisions might start with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un launching a missile that lands on or near Guam. The United States then moves aircraft carrier strike groups within range of the peninsula and retaliates with an airstrike on a coastal launch facility, perhaps using a Tomahawk cruise missile — similar to the attack the U.S. launched to punish Syria for its use of chemical weapons.

Sorry but that scenario is nonsense. If President Trump decides to use force it will be overwhelming force. Not a single tomahawk so he can sit back and see what Rocket Man does in response.

[Steely Tom]

Remember all the incredibly frightening stories about how horrible a war with Saddam Hussein would be? About the “elite Republican Guards,” about the ghastly prospects for “urban warfare,” about how Saddam’s forces were “hardened” by years of war with Iran?

The MSM ran them in ‘91, and they ran them again in 2003.

[Beowulf9]

Reconnaissance reconnaissance reconnaissance

Then a quick bullet between Un’s eyes.

[datura]

Hit Guam or any other US ally with a missile, and the world will witness the absolute power of an Ohio Class sub. 24 birds at 10 MIRVs each? Hard to fire artillery when you’ve been vaporized.

Seoul would not be pummeled with arty - it wouldn’t exist.

[struggle]

Our military has a reactive chain of command that allows lower divisions to act on their own. The whole Nork Military takes its orders from one man. Kill him, it’s over.

The problem will be China. China does not want US/SK boots on the ground.

[wbarmy]

President Trump’s threatening posture toward North Korea

SO fat boy testing nukes isn't threatening? So firing missiles over allied countries is not threatening? So constantly debasing our currency with counterfeit money is not threatening? Killing our citizens in his gulags is not threatening?

[taxcontrol]

I cant go into how or why I know this, but the most successful war simulations between the US and NK call for a sudden escalation of a low level conflict to a massive nuke strike by the US. The taking out of the vast majority of the NK military personnel via neutron bombs followed by large numbers of tactical nukes taking out air, artillery and sea ports.

This is then followed by a substantial insertion of SK and US forces on the border between NK and China and precise bombing of bridges between NK and China.

[CurlyDave]

The most sure-fire way to shoot down Nork missiles, is to hit them before they are launched...

[Red Steel]

When the balloon goes up, have in the air some 120 heavy bombers each with 80,000 to 100,000 lbs of GPS bombs to hammer every known and suspected NK artillery piece within the range of Seoul and other population centers. That’s about 150 ~ 200 bombs (Mk82s with GPS units) per bomber. North Korea would get the sobering.

[DannyTN]

1) Take Musk’s tunnel digger, build a nuclear powered version of it.
2) Have it dig it’s way from the coast under Pyongyang.
3) Have it build a honeycomb of tunnels under Pyongyang.
4) So that the next time NK sets tests a nuclear bomb, Pyongyang becomes Taedong lake.

/supervillain mode off

[Mariner]

We were also expected to suffer massive loses fighting the 4th largest army in the world...Iraq.

Analysts cautioned the Pentagon to purchase at least 100,000 body bags.

[apillar]

The North Korean military is composed of obsolete Soviet and Chinese hand-me-downs, our military would wipe out the North Korean Air Force, Navy and large swaths of the mobile artillery in the first few hours of a conflict. The two "aces" that North Korea does have are its Nuclear Arsenal (which is admittedly a huge ace) and secondly, thousands of mobile artillery batteries already in position and pointed at Seoul.

The point being, that even though we could wipe them out rather quickly, it would still not be quickly enough to stop them from raining multiple artillery (and perhaps nuclear) strikes on South Korea.

[wastedyears]

Uh... Seoul is the capital of South Korea.

[MrEdd]

The L.A. Times experts can be found tapping out messages with their toes to the denizens of the bus station from whom they learned everything they know about military matters.

[DoodleDawg]

I really see the Norks as a paper tiger, that won’t stop roaring.

A paper tiger that will take as many people as it can with it on its way down.