Posted on 04/24/2010 2:03:58 AM PDT by XHogPilot
South Korea on Saturday raised the front half of a warship that exploded and sank a month ago near a contested sea border with North Korea, finding clues that support growing suspicions Pyongyang attacked the vessel.
The 1,200-tonne corvette Cheonan sank in what military officials said was a torpedo attack.
Forty-six South Korean sailors were killed in what could be one of the deadliest strikes by Pyongyang on its rival since the end of the Korean War. The North denies involvement.
South Korea's president on Friday gave the clearest signal yet Seoul had no plan to launch a revenge attack, calming investors worried that armed conflict would damage the South's economy.
"The catastrophic costs of a war on the peninsula will greatly constrain the U.S. and South Korean options for a military response, which thus remains an unlikely trigger for major military conflict," the global strategy group Control Risks wrote in a research note this week.
The front end of the ship was raised by a giant sea crane and drained before being placed on a barge.
One body has been found so far in the just-raised wreckage and six sailors were still missing, Yonhap news agency reported. The bodies of most of the 46 missing were found in the stern section raised earlier this month. Another 58 were rescued alive.
"The way a hatch (near where the ship split in two) had been thrown off its hinge indicates there had been a very strong external impact," Yonhap quoted an unidentified military official as saying, adding weight to the torpedo theory.
A survey team that includes experts from South Korea, the United States and Australia said after the rear of the ship was raised the Cheonan had been destroyed by an external explosion. That stoked suspicions of the torpedo attack.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
“There may be a lot of casualties for the brave soldiers,”
There will be a lot of dead American soldiers (again) if this goes hot again.
Not something to taken lightly by any measure.
If China did this, and not North Korea.....hmmm...
Modern torpedoes are not like what you see in the movies (at least not all the torps).
Modern torpedoes can troll at lower speeds with virtually no acoustic signature, and then sprint the final 150/200m when there is little or no defense. Also, even if the SKs DID hear “high speed screws” there is little they could do in time.
Secondly, this occurred in relatively shallow water and the acoustics would be pretty lousy for a SONAR operator — lotsa surface noise, the sound of their own screws, etc.
Most likely though the sub was close enough that when torpedo went to high speed, there was no chance of counter measures or effective maneuvering.
Torps are much faster than a ‘corvette’ like this.
Why is the freedom of the North Korean people worth the lives of tens of thousands of U.S. and South Korean troops?
So, how long does he think North Korea can sustain a war? It that army in tip top shape? Can they mount any kind of broad offensive? Would they rain a gas attack on Seoul? The little toad is about to kick off, are his successors more reasonable? How about a decapitation strike?
Then by all means join up. The Marines are always looking for a few good men - and women - and last time I checked today's army wants to join you. Hurry and you can make it over there in time before the balloon goes up.
I am sure that the administration is “closely monitoring” the situation.
I knew about the torps but did not consider the shallow area. Thanks.
For a couple of hours. But that's enough time to fire every shell they have, and launch every missile, and use up all their nuclear warheads (that they may or may not have.) SK will be history, and it doesn't matter that the USA will destroy NK just about the same time.
SK is facing an irrational foe, not far from a madman. They have to be very careful.
My dad worked as a naval liaison with them back in the Fifties, and he seemed to think they had it together. He described them as tough, capable and diligent.
That is what I have heard from some other US military about their Army.
They do nothing without china's say so.
I think it likely that there is no ASW gear aboard this small vessel. The torp would never have been detected. Nor would a mine.
Yeah, I would take what they said as diplospeak for “We will respond at a time and at place of our own choosing.” Pretty much what Bush said, diplomatically, after 9-11.
But one thing is for certain - they didn’t need to raise that vessel to know what happened. They had divers all over that wreck within hours.
So, India doesn’t respond to Pak fire teams shooting the hell out of Bombay. South Korea doesn’t respond to the sinking of a strategic asset. What if they gave a war and nobody came?
I’ll tell you what if. The enemy will be emboldened and raise the stakes.
Yeah, that was pretty much why we knew their powder magazine didn’t spontaneously blow up. The Sorks run a shipshape navy. They learned it from us after WWII. I don’t believe there is a lot of third world bumbling on their vessels.
One thing is, they may have known from the start. Some governments can keep a secret.
I like wars. I pray for wars. Because I know that unopposed aggression just leads to more aggression. Because I know that war should be like yanking a tooth - sharp, painful, and fast, because if not the problems fester and never get solved.
We live in one big, fat, dysfunctional country that is afraid of the truth. WE CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH. I think it’s high time we started.
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