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U.S. May Launch Strike If North Korea Reaches For Nuclear Trigger
NBC News ^ | 4-13-2017 | William M. Arkin, Cynthia McFadden and Kenzi Abou-Sabe

Posted on 04/13/2017 5:48:56 PM PDT by blam

The U.S. is prepared to launch a preemptive strike with conventional weapons against North Korea should officials become convinced that North Korea is about to follow through with a nuclear weapons test, multiple senior U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News.

North Korea has warned that a "big event" is near, and U.S. officials say signs point to a nuclear test that could come as early as this weekend.

The intelligence officials told NBC News that the U.S. has positioned two destroyers capable of shooting Tomahawk cruise missiles in the region, one just 300 miles from the North Korean nuclear test site.

American heavy bombers are also positioned in Guam to attack North Korea should it be necessary, and earlier this week, the Pentagon announced that the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group was being diverted to the area.

The U.S. strike could include missiles and bombs, cyber and special operations on the ground.

The danger of such an attack by the U.S. is that it could provoke the volatile and unpredictable North Korean regime to launch its own blistering attack on its southern neighbor.

"The leadership in North Korea has shown absolutely no sign or interest in diplomacy or dialogue with any of the countries involved in this issue," Victor Cha, the Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies told NBC News Thursday.

(snip)

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bomg; china; first100days; nknukes; northkorea; trump; trump45; trumpasia
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To: blam

Far boi is cray-cray. Trump is crayer ...


41 posted on 04/13/2017 7:25:13 PM PDT by VRWC For Truth (Taglines now subject to management approval)
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To: wastedyears

Because it just might not be long before the fat pig can launch a nuke as far as our shores.

That, and the fact that South Korea is our ally.


42 posted on 04/13/2017 7:31:51 PM PDT by lbtbell
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To: blam

I wonder how many special ops we have in-country right now waiting for the order to pop him.


43 posted on 04/13/2017 7:32:08 PM PDT by bigbob
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To: kaehurowing

It would be slightly worse to bomb Seoul; there are 2 million more people there than in NYC. It would be a disaster of epic proportions.

God forbid, if that ever happens, all bets would be off...the civilized world would have no more reason to play games with that inbred dictator. Because their only hostage—South Korea—would have already been killed, metaphorically speaking. There would be nothing to stop the US military from taking out everything that moves in North Korea.


44 posted on 04/13/2017 7:37:00 PM PDT by lbtbell
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To: All

Looks like kim is gonna get a haircut!


45 posted on 04/13/2017 7:43:10 PM PDT by mulder1 ("It is not the critic that matters" "Loose lips sink ships.")
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To: blam

You can blame this problem on Bill Clinton and the Russians. Bill provided them with the computers to enrich from industrial to weapons grade in the early 90’s. He further supplied by way of China, and delivered by Hughes and Loral corporations, the Missile Rre-entry Vehicle, (MRV), tracking program so China could bring down their rockets better, and China, in turn, leaked it to North Korea.

Now North Korea can target Japan and Hawaii with Nuclear weapons and hit the locations using missiles that were provided by the Russians. China has and is still sighting the US left coast and has vehicles on the pad with multiple war heads. Thanks Bill.

red


46 posted on 04/13/2017 7:56:49 PM PDT by Redwood71
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To: mrsmith

Exile seems more than fair.


47 posted on 04/13/2017 8:05:23 PM PDT by RC one (The 2nd Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances)
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To: lbtbell

We like Seoul and have a lot of friends and acquaintances there. It’s such an ultra-modern and civilized city, I can’t imagine how awful it would be.


48 posted on 04/13/2017 8:08:44 PM PDT by kaehurowing
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To: jjsheridan5
They know that if they went too far, they would cease to exist.

As is quite common in the West, you're failing to take into account the apocalyptic nature of the mullahs' worldview. They'll do anything to bring about the return of their 12 Imam, and if nuking America ("The Great Satan") or Israel accomplishes that, then they'll unleash what they need to unleash, their personal survival be damned.

KJ Un is a different kettle of fish, obviously. You said that dictators are "generally risk averse," and that is certainly true. Generally. KJ Un isn't typical. He's is quite insane, an therefore quite unpredictable. And he's the only dictator in world history with that resume who ALSO has a nuclear arsenal.

49 posted on 04/13/2017 9:47:36 PM PDT by Mr. Mojo (The Left doesn't want to win the debate, they want to CANCEL the debate)
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To: Mr. Mojo
As is quite common in the West, you're failing to take into account the apocalyptic nature of the mullahs' worldview.

Maybe you are right. Or maybe the mullahs are power-hungry, selfish, and self-interested people who use Islam as a means of keeping control over the wealth and people of Iran. We really have no way of knowing, but I strongly suspect the latter. My guess is that they are not so much religious as they are greedy. As I said, we really don't have any way of knowing. But it does raise the question: why have they never taken any real personal risks, if they are so convinced that God is on their side?

As far as the little fat boy: I am quite convinced that if he thinks there is even a 5% chance of retaining power (and all the food, porn, slave-girls, and drugs/alcohol that go with it), I sincerely doubt he would take any personal risks whatsoever. Once again, we cannot really know, and all we have to go on is this: why have he and his father never actually resparked the war? Maybe they are just waiting for things to get desperate enough (for themselves), or maybe they are waiting until they have the upper hand (good luck with that), but the alternative explanation is, I think, more likely: they use their rhetoric as a means of keeping power, and from what amounts to professional threat-making, but they really have no interest in actual conflict, and the certain defeat that entails.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree. You say that they are quite unpredictable. I believe that they are extremely predictable.
50 posted on 04/13/2017 10:04:53 PM PDT by jjsheridan5
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To: kaehurowing

Quick! Send a Tweet to the Pentagon advising them of the possibility!


51 posted on 04/13/2017 10:17:49 PM PDT by Cobra64 (Common sense isn't common any more.)
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To: FreedomStar3028

We can just ask and the Israeli’s will hand us many.


52 posted on 04/14/2017 12:11:46 AM PDT by Bobalu ( Healthcare - someone must pay. Who should it be, and how did they get that obligation?)
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To: blam

Arkin is a well known hardcore leftist who exposed American nuclear bases and has been affiliated with the Marxist Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) which has had continuing ties to Soviet era “peace fronts”.


53 posted on 04/14/2017 12:40:05 AM PDT by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper
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To: wastedyears
Why have we gotten so involved in world affairs?


Iran and North Korea.

Both have been partners in the development and proliferation of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles .

Immediately prior to the Obama Iran nuclear deal, North Korea made a few breakthroughs nuclear weapon and missile technology that allowed them to proceed past the development phase and enter the production phase.

The breakthrough most likely came via technology transfer from an established nuclear player and Russia is the most likely benefactor.

Production takes big money and access to world wide technology, instrumentation and hardware.

President Obama gave both money and technology to Iran and the media is either unaware or covering up how much Obama moved the ball forward for Iran and North Korea's quest for an offensive nuclear weapons system - both from a funding and technology standpoint..

Both Iran and North Korea are well funded and fast tracking a very credible nuclear weapons and delivery systems program and both are on the cusp of getting a credible offensive nuclear capability, if the don't already have it

North Korea has become the workshop and production facility of the nuclear partnership to avoid sanctions and scrutiny so if you destroy the North Korean program, you cripple the Iranian program for decades especially if you enforce restrictions on Iran.

It is critical we put an end to the North Korea's nuclear program because if we do we put a stop on Irans as well. If either of these countries gets nuclear weapons they will definitely use them as extortion tools, terrorist strikes and probably will use them as offensive weapons.

54 posted on 04/14/2017 12:42:17 AM PDT by rdcbn (.... when Poets buy guns, tourist season is over ...)
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To: kaehurowing

If they mess with my KDramas, there will be hell to pay.


55 posted on 04/14/2017 1:30:35 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: dfwgator

If they mess with my KDramas, there will be hell to pay.


Exactly, my wife will personally scratch Kim Jong Un’s eyeballs out.


56 posted on 04/14/2017 1:35:13 AM PDT by kaehurowing
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To: God luvs America
there’s not a single piece of evidence or even a sentence in that article to substantiate the headline...BS fake news from the alt left...

Yep - and there's also such fake stories about the possibility of Trump sending 50K - 150k ground troops to Syria.

If nothing else, it gets the concern trolls worked up.

57 posted on 04/14/2017 3:48:48 AM PDT by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: blam

Drudge ran with this story.


58 posted on 04/14/2017 4:45:27 AM PDT by BeadCounter
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To: FreedomStar3028

IIRC, Jimma Cotta banned them.
IIRC, the Israelis have a few of them.


59 posted on 04/14/2017 4:56:19 AM PDT by Original Lurker
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To: blam

Just wow.
The MSM is TRYING to start wars on multiple fronts: Russia, the ME, and North Korea.
Really, I beginning to think that the FBI and Federal Marshals need to start kicking down doors and dragging the folks away.


60 posted on 04/14/2017 8:25:59 AM PDT by Little Ray (Freedom Before Security!)
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