Posted on 02/07/2016 4:23:32 PM PST by Kaslin
This story actually broke just as we were warming up for the debate last night and our readers were discussing it in comments while most of the political sphere was focused on New Hampshire. Ahead of their original schedule, Kim Jong-un launched a missile into orbit allegedly carrying an “Earth observing satellite” over the objections of pretty much everyone else on the planet. Like we needed this on top of everything else that’s going on.(WaPo)
North Korea on Sunday declared that it had successfully put an "earth observation satellite" into orbit under the direct orders of leader Kim Jong Un, and said it planned to launch "many more."
Both the South Korean defense ministry and the Pentagon said that the rocket, launched at 9 a.m. North Korean time from a launch pad near the Chinese border, appeared to have successfully reached space.
The United States, Japan and South Korea immediately condemned the launch, a move widely seen as another step toward North Korea mastering the technology for making a missile capable of striking the mainland United States. The U.N. Security Council called an emergency meeting for later Sunday to discuss how to respond to the country's latest provocation.
It certainly looks like they put something into space, though how much of an actual satellite it is remains to be seen. The particularly bad news is that this was a long range launch, passing directly over Okinawa, and could hit any number of targets if it wasn’t heading for space. Couple that with their most recent nuclear weapons testing and you’ve got a recipe for some furrowed brows in all the western nations. For that matter, even China condemned the launch (though in rather mild tones) and they’re Kim’s only remaining friends in the world with any real power.
Even though the news was still fresh off the press it showed up at the GOP debate. Ted Cruz offered a few dire words on the subject when asked.
With respect to North Korea and what we should do now, one of the first things we should do is expand our missile defense capacity. We ought to put missile defense interceptors in South Korea. South Korea wants them. One of the real risks of this launch, North Korea wants to launch a satellite, and one of the greatest risks of the satellite is they would place a nuclear device in the satellite. As it would orbit around the Earth, and as it got over the United States they would detonate that nuclear weapon and set of what’s called an EMP, and electromagnetic pulse which could take down the entire electrical grid on the Eastern seaboard, potentially killing millions.
We need to harden the grid to defend ourselves, and we need missile defense to protect ourselves against North Korea.
There’s been plenty of discussion of the threat of a North Korean EMP attack on the United States for years now with varying opinions on just how effective it would be. The overwhelming consensus is that it certainly wouldn’t be good, but precisely how bad it would be depends on a lot of factors including the efficacy of the bomb, where it was relative to the continent, altitude and other questions which can’t be answered up front. Perhaps the bigger question is just how up to date our intelligence is and if we would really know for sure if they had developed the ability to load a bomb on such a mission.
The second, more obvious worry is that it wouldn’t be heading into space, but directly for Seattle. So what do we do about it? Missile defense systems in South Korea sound good, but there are logistic and political hurdles to that, mostly involving China. I’d love to have a definitive answer here short of wiping out Pyongyang preemptively, but I don’t. Thankfully I’m not running for president. Let’s hope whoever wins this election has something in mind, because North Korea is no longer just a hypothetical problem.
This is true. China uses the Norks to pull our chain. Trump knows what to do to induce China to rein them in.
What would it take us to cure us of our naivete’ BEFORE it’s too late?
I would like to think so, but I’m not sure anyone does.
China is a rogue nation itself.
We should never have given it an income stream.
Utter fools...
Wake up the electorate. Vote for reps and a president who takes national security seriously. It starts with us. Read “One Second After” with a forward by Newt Gingrich.
I’ve posted a lot lately about my suspicion that Obama’s owners have planned all along that Iran (or North Korea - doesn’t matter) hit us with an EMP attack in November or December while Obama is in South America.
Is there any way to get our military to protect this nation so that Obama’s plan would be thwarted? Is there anything we can do to get rid of the vulnerability before Obama finally finishes off this country?
I’ve suggested that Congress designate all funding that would have gone to Air Force One and secret service protection for the Obamas will instead go to border security - let Obama know that if he explodes this nation he and his family die alone with the rest of us. That’s the only thing I can think of that might get him to actually try to protect this nation as he’s sworn to do. Of course he hasn’t kept that oath; he broke the oath just by taking it, since the oath requires him to defend the US Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic and he is a foreign enemy combatant...
Maybe the medical supplies in the White House bunker could be given to the Red Cross to treat inner-city people... Let them know they also will not have food, water, heat, or medical supplies, if America gets hit by the enemies he has aided this whole time...
Do you have any thoughts? Are we defenseless until Obama is out? If so, he wins ‘cause he can get his allies to do this at any time - especially if the military purging has gotten rid of all patriots.
If the “satellite” is in a polar orbit, it must pass over the US many times. If they decided to “de-orbit” at just the right time, we would have no defenses in the proper locations to deal with it . . . just a thought.
Hans Brix is going to have to write them another letter.
Obama said they have had their last chance. Next time it’s a Facebook unfriending.
Or, somewhere up the Mississippi River.
Yup, that too.
as someone who lives in Hawaii and this is within range of North Korea, I sincerely wish our military would target each and every North Korean long range ballistic missile launch with our own anti missile systems and shoot them down. Everyone not one should be allowed to go through its stages and go into orbit or anywhere else. here’s a perfect target for are airborne flying laser platforms. Enough with the testing , enough with the secrecy .Lets show the world that we can knock that s*** right out of the sky if we don’t want it to be there. And we don’t
One Second After.†People should read the book. An EMP strike is so easy, it is inevitable.
Great read. Scared me more than anything else I have ever read. I had never considered a situation where you would have to decise if your dog was more valuable as protection or food.
Isn’t this exactly the scenario that the experts were warning us about after NK’s last nuke test a couple years ago? A polar orbit that would allow access to us from the southern hemisphere? Are you familiar with what I’m talking about - the expert who blew the alarms a couple years ago?
I have long thought that NK nuclear tests were of an Iranian bomb or at least one produced jointly. Remember Israel conducted its bomb test with South Africa. NK may be just a shill for the Iranian bomb and ICBM delivery system.
Terrorists with sub guns and schools. More plausible than an EMP strike. It's a good thing that it's a short read.
You can see the NK satellite in 15 minutes when it passes 500 KM above the Super Bowl (8:30 PM Pacific Time).
Oh wonderful...
Thanks...
Well, we wouldn't have to put up with Microsoft anymore. /sarc>
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