Posted on 10/23/2017 10:58:43 AM PDT by JP1201
CLARK, Philippines (AP) — Japan's defense minister asserted Monday that North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities have grown to an "unprecedented, critical and imminent" level, requiring "different responses" to the threat.
The minister, Itsunori Odonera, said that this rising threat compels his country to endorse the U.S. view that "all options" must be considered, which President Donald Trump says includes possible military action. Japan was alarmed by North Korea twice launching missiles over Japanese territory, in August and in September.
Odonera's comments, made through an interpreter, came at the outset of a so-called trilateral meeting in the Philippines with U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and South Korea's defense minister, Song Young-moo. Each made statements about North Korea before a group of reporters and news cameras, but none took questions.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Wasn’t it you who said what would happen to North Korea if it dared attack the U. S.? I sure thought it was. You named the trade off. I didn’t.
It was as if you thought this would prevent Kim from attacking us. LOL This is a man who is starving his own citizens. He isn’t rational.
He’s now down to limiting petrol to only his top government workers. Rational?
Now you get upset because I called you on the trade off.
You need to think about what you post before you make a fool out of yourself, not afterward.
Jimmy, I guess it was you. What are you doing on a forum that cares about its citizens enough to support taking preventative action to protect them?
“We should help Japan to become a nuclear nation. That would put some pink panties in a wad....er, yellow panties.”
They don’t need our help. They can have a nuke ready to go within a week and, as another Freeper once said, have the Hello Kitty version on the market within a week of that.
It’s still Fat Boy just bellowing.... He sets off the Missiles because he’s got huge screens in the city ‘showing the people’ he’s protecting them.... THEY believe him...and THEY believe nukes are their defense. So he’s got to continue to rattle and roar....to continue to support the brainwashing their nation is at war with the US and that we are out to destroy them.
I think the idea is to make the people in the city miserable enough (sanctions)they turn against Fat Boy.....if we can continue to stall it will work in time.
Where is Ronnie Rayguns when we need him?
This will be China’s blow-back for North Korea. A militarily resurgent, nuclear-armed Japan.
You seem to be setting up a straw man fallacy. He's "suicidal", he's "irrational", he's "crazy", you say people are saying.
The guy has threatened us for whatever reason. He's dangerous. Period.
If logic always prevails there would have never been a Pearl Harbor attack.
Japan never had a chance to beat us but they attacked anyway.
Kimmy is much more wacky than were the leaders of Japan in 1941.
A war there is going to be very destructive and it looks likely.
It sucks in so many ways as things could go a much better path especially for the NK people.
He is essentially committing national suicide right now.
He has starved his populace. He has mismanaged the nation to the point that only his top government leaders can purchase gasoline.
He has sunk all his nation’s wealth into developing weapons for an enemy that doesn’t exist.
Nobody has their eyes on North Korea. Nobody lusts for it’s location, material wealth, or natural deposits.
I don’t consider the man to be of sound mind. He is maniacal. He most certainly has mental health issues.
Who knows what makes him tick? While we’re evaluating him, he could just as easily be ready to go out seriously damaging the United States. Maybe in his mind, that would be a world class event that would solidify his name in the history books.
What we do know, is that he is either on the verge of, or has a limited nuclear capability already.
The question now is, do we let a man like this develop hundreds of weapons, or do we stop him when he has only a few?
This doesn’t get better from here.
We tried to wish it away for two decades. Well, here we are.
Kim will threaten every person on the planet when he has the opportunity.
Someone needs to stand up to him. Who else is going to do it?
“Complete with Special Forces teams ready to head up the Taedong River into Central Pyongyang if necessary.”
There’s a recon role for special forces in NK, but it’s the poster child for heavy bombardment, artillery, and tens of thousands of boots on the ground.
Nothing subtle going to happen, if it happens.
PM Abe (who was returned to power with a reduced mandate) has just managed to convince his coalition to at least consider a Constitutional change allowing Japan to participate in regional defense activities beyond their borders. A war declaration without an attack is simply not within the realm of possibility despite what many warhawks here seem to want.
“I just don’t see why people see him as crazy (at least in terms of what he is doing in terms of nuclear weapons), suicidal, and irrational.”
Well, in a general sense it certainly doesn’t seem like a sign of ‘rationality’ to kill your brother or to blow individual people away with artillery. The way he treats his own people is also not evidence of a rational person. I understand your point about his strategy being somewhat grounded in his own regional reality, and also concede that even madmen can act ‘rationally’ in the context of military strategy, etc. I just get the impression that he has delusions of grandeur - and that is a dangerous mindset.
“And I also think it is a very dangerous thing to underestimate, or wrongly evaluate, a potential adversary.”
Agree, entirely.
I read an article a short time ago, that referenced the populace of losing on average 20 pounds. I don’t know how you prove that. I didn’t give it much weight.
One person who escaped the nation told the story of starving people. She had seen some of the bodies.
Right now there isn’t food. Gasoline is in such short supply on his top government officials can buy gasoline.
These types of dictators have fail-safes built in. They have everyone reporting on everyone else. These folks are terrified to make a move. They don’t know if anyone will help them or not.
When each day could be your last for even some small act or mistake that meant nothing, you have a very hard time coming up with a plan to take the leader out.
I’m not convinced he will be taken out.
At some point prior to this, something should have happened if that was possible. It hasn’t.
We simply cannot kick this can on down the road. It will only get worse.
He is committing national suicide.
What is it with you? Why can’t you be honest about what is going on here?
The populace is said to have lost 20 pounds on average, and as you said, this is a populace that was never well fed.
People who leave the nation talk of starvation.
Even those in the capital can’t purchase gasoline unless they are a top government official.
The palace guard is the only thing left standing, and so he isn’t committing national suicide? Really?
“I think what he really wants is an Obama-style airplane load of $100 bills.”
Probably not a bad plan...except for Donald Trump, who comes equipped with a very special weapon, the Mark I James Mattis. Methinks that Fatboy has already been surprised, but is going to play this game to the hilt because he believes that it’ll work.
1) Never invade Russia.
2) Never invade China.
...but there's a third, which has only come to pass in the last 70 years or so.
3) Don't f*ck with the US Air Force.
So I'd have to rate the current nuclear threat as irrational.
The real issue is the technology that the Norks are sharing. Iran is one benefactor. Under Obama we abandoned the ability to fight a two front war. As you mentioned an EMP is a possibility. That would send us back to the mid 1800’s. I don’t see any negotiating room. I’m in favor of supporting Japan beyond the current level. It’s rumored they could develop nuclear weapons in a very short time frame. That would get China’s attention. In exchange for not assisting Japan, the Chinese need to depose the Nork regime and impose a puppet that would demilitarize North Korea.
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.