[the_doc]

Yes, I think so. See my #115. It's a matter of realism. We can't conscript 700,000 men at the drop of a hat--so we won't.

Either we go nuclear, or we give away South Korea and 35,000 American soldiers.

Of course, if the whole thing just smolders for a while and we see that we have time to put a couple hundred thousand more troops in S.Korea (not a good idea, IMO), we might do that in the chess game.

I like William Safire's proposal--which is to pull all of our troops out of South Korea (out from under the NK guns). If NK attacks the South, we defend the South with stand-off weapons. In other words, we incinerate the North.

The US has always taken the position that our nuclear arsenal exists for a reason--and it's not just to respond to a nuclear attack. It's to win wars we have to win but can't win any other way.

[the_doc]

By the way, I think it would scare the daylights out of NK if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea--if we smiled real big while we were doing it.

[HighRoadToChina]

I too agree with Safire's recommendation. If the South Koreans are that anti-American as shown by their demonstrating students, it's time for the US to leave and let them defend their own homeland. Such ingratitude is unbelievable and inexcusable.

Let the American forces fight not as sitting ducks but as we did in Iraq I and soon to do in Iraq II: initiators of war not reactors.