[OrthodoxPresbyterian]

"There are some things that the United States can't do. Attacking a Nuclear-Armed Adversary is one of them." ~~ Can't or won't? God bless

Can't.

If North Korea has the capability and the means to liquify Honolulu and Anchorage (or even Tokyo, for that matter), then no US President is ever going to seek an "Authorization of Force" or "Declaration of War" against them.

And if North Korea succeeds in extending the range of their IRBMs (or, if they already have) to include Seattle, Portland, Frisco, and LA, that only cements the facts of the case.

We ain't God, and we ain't Superman. No US President will ever seek an "Authorization of Force" or "Declaration of War" against a Nuclear-Armed Adversary.

Atomic Weapons and the Means to deliver them are the international, universal Ace Card.

[mitch5501]

"Atomic Weapons and the Means to deliver them are the international, universal Ace Card."

Yep.Unfortunately you (I would suspect)and I both know that sooner or later someone's going to 'call'.

So your "can't" is arguable I think but I know what you mean.

God bless

[The Duke]

We ain't God, and we ain't Superman. No US President will ever seek an "Authorization of Force" or "Declaration of War" against a Nuclear-Armed Adversary.

I disagree - the day may come when missiles simply no longer pose a significant threat.

That said, I suspect we do not need to attack North Korea, but merely to stop sending them food.

[wallcrawlr]

...your theory sounds good but what if you can defend your self from nukes with SDI.

[George W. Bush]

Atomic Weapons and the Means to deliver them are the international, universal Ace Card.

Not if we have space-based energy weapons in orbit already.

I think we do. The gubmint'll inform us about this in 20-30 years. Given the amounts we can see spent from the public record on such weapons research, the black budget items must be far larger. And the track record for actual deployment of such weapons and technology in earlier Pentagon research projects is pretty consistent (stealth and spy aircraft, nuclear weapons, electronics/satellite intel).

Yeah, I think we have some ray-guns in the vicinity of Korea and China. Probably x-ray lasers on satellites to attack the missile electronics. We wouldn't necessarily need orbital platforms either. You could also mount MIRACL systems on warships near Japan where they could protect the fleet and provide an anti-ICBM capability for strategic land launches. The strange official silence about the MIRACL program since its successful test against a missile in flight in 1996 is very provocative. I think it went into production under black budget but it'll be a while before we find out.

[Polybius]

Can't. If North Korea has the capability and the means to liquify Honolulu and Anchorage (or even Tokyo, for that matter), then no US President is ever going to seek an "Authorization of Force" or "Declaration of War" against them. And if North Korea succeeds in extending the range of their IRBMs (or, if they already have) to include Seattle, Portland, Frisco, and LA, that only cements the facts of the case.

Such a scenario can also be viewed as a Sophie's Choice.

If you have a sociopath developing the capability of mass destruction, there is a point where you face the risk of losing losing one million Americans next year or a hundred million Americans six years from now when the North Korean nuclear arsenal and delivery capabilities has vastly expanded.

In such a scenario, no "Authorization of Force" or "Declaration of War" will be asked for in order to avoid warning the North Koreans. The War Powers Act recognizes "The constitutional powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief to introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated ..."

The strike will accomplished before there rest of the world knows about it.

[ml1954]

If North Korea has the capability and the means to liquify Honolulu and Anchorage (or even Tokyo, for that matter), then no US President is ever going to seek an "Authorization of Force" or "Declaration of War" against them. And if North Korea succeeds in extending the range of their IRBMs (or, if they already have) to include Seattle, Portland, Frisco, and LA, that only cements the facts of the case. We ain't God, and we ain't Superman. No US President will ever seek an "Authorization of Force" or "Declaration of War" against a Nuclear-Armed Adversary. Atomic Weapons and the Means to deliver them are the international, universal Ace Card.

Isn't this what preemption is all about...to deal with imminent or gathering threats? Let's just say imminent in this case.

[Domestic Church]

"Atomic Weapons and the Means to deliver them are the international, universal Ace Card."

Just as atomic weapons were unheard of before being used, we have to have more recent developments that haven't been utilized and they are probably instruments of destruction that have built in cover so none the wiser would the world be if and when they are used. I have no doubt that we have newer universal aces to outdo the NK.

[Robert_Paulson2]

We ain't God, and we ain't Superman. No US President will ever seek an "Authorization of Force" or "Declaration of War" against a Nuclear-Armed Adversary.

---

no authorization will be sought.
should it come down to dealing 'aces', we will.

N. Korea is one of the axis members... by name, and will be dismantled. One way or another. They can always comply as an alternative to the big fry.

[RightWhale]

A normative conclusion might be in order after a serious abductive argument.

[jgophel]

Atomic Weapons and the Means to deliver them are the international, universal Ace Card.

The Means may be the key if we have to. We can park a couple of attack subs 100 miles off shore (and I'll bet there are a couple there right now). How owuld they know they are coming? I can't imagine they have the same "net" we do or that USSR had, but I don't know.
Like a cancer, we have to make sure to get it all.

Oh, shucks! I forgot Bill CLinton was once President. They probably have anything they ever wanted.