[r9etb]

The deaths of a couple of million South Koreans, for instance? The steel fist is an empty threat, and the North Koreans know it.

I fully agree that the options are limited in that sense. But it doesn't mean we have no options. A steel fist doesn't necessarily mean mounting an invasion. There are less overt ways to take direct action, and I suspect those will start soon. I'm thinking things like infiltration teams for assassinations and sabotage -- and Li'l Kim's fuzzy head on a platter. Take out the regime, and the rest of NK will roll over.

[Steel Wolf]

But it doesn't mean we have no options. A steel fist doesn't necessarily mean mounting an invasion. There are less overt ways to take direct action, and I suspect those will start soon. I'm thinking things like infiltration teams for assassinations and sabotage -- and Li'l Kim's fuzzy head on a platter. Take out the regime, and the rest of NK will roll over.

Those are options that aren't on the table. Assassination of foreign leaders is illegal, and the U.S. won't engage in it. Period. Full stop.

While regime change would solve our problems, it's simply not an operational possibility. Especially when that regime has nuclear weapons. A decapitating strike that misses would invite retaliation, possibly of a 'legacy killing' type.

Testing a nuclear weapon is the single greatest thing Kim Jong Il ever did to stabilize his regime. We won't dare lay a hand on him now.

[ichabod1]

I'm thinking things like infiltration teams for assassinations and sabotage

That's what i thought. Wishful thinking.