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| Korea |
| A New Blueprint for Facing Down North Korea |
| 2003-07-13 |
| Within the past two months, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has ordered U.S. military commanders to devise a new war plan for a possible conflict with North Korea. Elements of the draft, known as Operations Plan 5030, are so aggressive that they could provoke a war, some senior Bush administration officials tell U.S. News. Adm. Thomas Fargo, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, and senior Pentagon planners are developing the highly classified plan. The administration insiders, who are critical of the plan, say it blurs the line between war and peace. The plan would give commanders in the region authority to conduct maneuvers--before a war has started--to drain North Korea’s limited resources, strain its military, and perhaps sow enough confusion that North Korean generals might turn against the country’s leader, Kim Jong Il. "Some of the things [Fargo] is being asked to do," says a senior U.S. official, "are, shall we say, provocative." There are several war plans for Korea--Plans 5026 and 5027, as well as 5030--that outline the different phases of war and the specific provisions for movements of large numbers of troops, aircraft carriers, and other war-fighting requirements. U.S. News has learned details of the prewar phase of the newest version of Plan 5030. Some officials believe the draft plan amounts to a strategy to topple Kim’s regime by destabilizing its military forces. The reason: It is being pushed by many of the same administration hard-liners who advocated regime change in Iraq. The Pentagon only recently began offering details of the plan to top officials at the White House, the State Department, and other agencies. It has not yet been approved. A Pentagon spokesman declined comment. One scenario in the draft involves flying RC-135 surveillance flights even closer to North Korean airspace, forcing Pyongyang to scramble aircraft and burn scarce jet fuel. Another option: U.S. commanders might stage a weeks-long surprise military exercise, designed to force North Koreans to head for bunkers and deplete valuable stores of food, water, and other resources. The current draft of 5030 also calls for the Pentagon to pursue a range of tactical operations that are not traditionally included in war plans, such as disrupting financial networks and sowing disinformation. (con’t see link) |
| Posted by:just one voice |
| #2 Looks like Rummy is taking a page from Ronnie: A lot of stuff Reagan did was calculated to financially exhaust the Russians, and I'm glad to see similar plans being formulated whose effect will be the same on the NKors: talk about playing with their heads! Remember, these are JUST plans, but constitute a way of saying "We're capable of doing this, so beware!" Heck, we even had plans to invade Canada once. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-7-14 8:35:17 AM |
| #1 Looks like the Iraq pattern all over again. Let a Thousand Plans bloom! |
| Posted by: PBMcL 2003-7-13 12:16:11 PM |