The USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group, which includes Aegis-equipped destroyers, is headed for the Korean peninsula in anticipation of North Korea’s sixth nuclear test
Posted on 04/18/2017 7:48:07 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
As Pentagon looks for strategies to pressure into denuclearization, officials worry that intercepting missiles could escalate tensions and risk war.
The US military is considering shooting down North Korean missile tests as a show of strength to Pyongyang, two sources briefed on the planning told the Guardian.
As tensions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles threaten confrontation in north-east Asia, the Pentagon is looking for ways short of war to pressure North Korea into denuclearization, particularly if Pyongyang goes forward with anticipated sixth nuclear test.
The option, which defense secretary James Mattis has briefed to Congress, has yet to mature into a decision by the military to intercept a tested missile.
One US official said the prospective shoot-down strategy would be aimed at occurring after a nuclear test, with the objective being to signal Pyongyang that the US can impose military consequences for a transgression Donald Trump has said is unacceptable.
But experts and former officials said shooting down a North Korean missile during a test risks an escalation that Washington may not be able to control, one that risks war on the Korean peninsula and potentially devastating consequences to allies South Korea and Japan.
“I would see such an action as escalatory, but I couldn’t guess how Kim Jong-un would interpret it,” said Abraham Denmark, the senior Pentagon policy official for Asia in Barack Obama’s administration.
“But I would be concerned he would feel the need to react strongly, as he would not want to appear weak.”
Both sources said the military was not looking to use the high-profile missile-defense system the US is providing to South Korea, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad). Thaad’s 200km range and sophisticated radar have unnerved China, whose president, Xi Jinping, has been coaxed by Trump into pressuring North Korea.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Headline:
US Conducting Military Exercises with North Korea.
Kim has been threatening to start a nuclear war and we’re worried we might make him mad?
“two sources briefed on the planning told the Guardian”.
FIRE THEM!
He’s already mad but we may make him angry!
In order for them to get shot down, they have to first get off the ground.
An unarmed missile test while provocative should likely not be shot down lease it provoke Kim into all out war. An artillery and missile attack on Seoul would be a likely result and quickly escalate to an all out war. An armed missile launch would be another matter.
Thank you for showing some common sense.
.....”officials worry that ‘intercepting missiles’ could escalate tensions and risk war”......
What a stupid statement!....would they rather just let them fly and reach whatever Ol Kim chooses to target?
The iron dome really makes Palestinian nutcases mad as well!
Do it, President Trump!
RE: An artillery and missile attack on Seoul would be a likely result and quickly escalate to an all out war. An armed missile launch would be another matter.
Can we know whether it is armed or not?
Those whom the gods would destroy, they first drive mad................
No, the politicians are not worried about making him mad. Apparently they have already decided to go to war. What they are trying to do now is get close enough to the line to make the other guy step over.
In other words, they want a war but dont want to be seen as wanting a war. No one wants to be blamed for starting it.
We just showed the norks how to launch a rocket. Period. Done. In your face.
Kims the moving party here, playing at war. What’s changed is leaders have determined he needs to stop one way or another , and dismantle his nuclear ambitions. Thats it.
PS Atlas launch is up from the Cape!
RE: In order for them to get shot down, they have to first get off the ground.
The strange thing is this -— they have gotten off the ground in previous tests in the past.
Curiously, the last two tests ( including the one last week ) just totally FAILED.
Makes you want to go — hmmmm....
I wonder though, does firing a missile towards a country constitute an act of war?
In other words, would Japan be justified in retaliating against the DPRK after a successful missile test in the Sea of Japan?
We should be deploying THAAD up and down the pacific coast and canadian border in the west. The launch is going to come from a submarine.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.