Article

2006-10-12 Down Under

Military options still 'on table' for N Korea

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Posted by Oztralian 2006-10-12 00:00|| || Front Page|| [4 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 You know that things have gotten strange when some of the only straight talk comes from the Land of Oz. Bless our Australian allies.

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2006-10-12 03:42|| 2006-10-12 03:42|| Front Page Top

#2 Sheesh. Indeed, Howard's a class act. So is Bush.

Posted by .com 2006-10-12 07:34|| 2006-10-12 07:34|| Front Page Top

#3 You know that things have gotten strange when some of the only straight talk comes from the Land of Oz.

Strange? From whom else were you expecting straight talk? After all McCain has a on Straight Talk.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2006-10-12 07:50|| 2006-10-12 07:50|| Front Page Top

#4 I'd keep popping off about how this weakens China because it shows they have little influence on their major client state, one that's been taking them for all the oil and food they can get. Rub China's face in it. Make em look like two-bit tinpots when they want to be considered the big boy in Asia. See how they like that.

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2006-10-12 08:45|| 2006-10-12 08:45|| Front Page Top

#5 Frank G: If you do so with the idea that China would invade Nork and set up a less-annoying puppet regime, far more intent on feeding its own people than supporting its military machine.

The trouble is in finding out what annoys China to that point. An old China hand suggested that what most annoys China is when their satellites start doing thing "not in the Chinese way". That is far more important to China than about anything else.

A good comparison is to how the Soviet Union treated Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.

Yugoslavia did everything to piss off Russia, left their sphere of influence, even showed military belligerence to them.

Czechoslovakia, on the other hand, was one of their best allies. It did anything they wanted militarily and would always back Russia.

But in 1968, the Russians invaded Czechoslovakia.

The reason was that the Kremlin could abide the annoying Yugoslavians, because Tito was a harsh dictator. The Czechs, however, were becoming far too liberal and encouraging freedom and liberty.

To the Soviet Union, this was intolerable.

In fact, doing things "the Chinese way" is probably the only thing that has prevented the mainland from invading Taiwan, a dozen times over.

And Nork, as horrific as it gets, still does things the Chinese way.

When China had a border fight with Vietnam, it was most likely because the Vietnamese government was apparently straying from the Chinese way, though this later turned out not to be the case.

Yet China still had the better part of two Chinese armies massacred to send Vietnam a message.

Posted by Anonymoose 2006-10-12 11:42|| 2006-10-12 11:42|| Front Page Top

#6 FG: I'd keep popping off about how this weakens China because it shows they have little influence on their major client state, one that's been taking them for all the oil and food they can get. Rub China's face in it. Make em look like two-bit tinpots when they want to be considered the big boy in Asia. See how they like that.

China *is* enormously influential with North Korea. The problem is that China is using that influence to advance Chinese interests, not Western ones. There's a lot of loose talk about how this or that country will go nuclear, but that's all it is - loose talk. Wake me up when Japan goes nuclear and manages to retain the US-Japan mutual defense pact. It's great for a rant, but it just ain't gonna happen.

China has tons of credibility - when Korea started impeding the import of Chinese vegetables, China promptly slapped tariffs on Korean electronics, upon which the Koreans backed down. Something similar happened with Japan. It is clear from these two examples that China is able significantly influence the policies of countries with which it doesn't supply - for free - half of their fuel and food for free. Now North Korea is the one country that gets these Chinese freebies. Like it or not, the least complicated explanation is that China is putting North Korea up to these antics.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2006-10-12 12:21|| http://timurileng.blogspot.com]">[http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2006-10-12 12:21|| Front Page Top

#7 Looks like we may need 'em: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52417

Posted by OyVey1 2006-10-12 12:21|| 2006-10-12 12:21|| Front Page Top

#8 Strange?

Nimble, please recalibrate your Quantitative Universal Irony & Pun Sensor (QUIPS).

Notice how I used the full movie title "The Land of OZ" instead of just plain "Oz"? That's the set-up for the final ironic gibe of an imaginary place being the only source of "straight talk". I knew this might zoom some people so I even tossed in the "Bless our Australian allies." as an insurance policy. You're a very bright poster, so please lighten up, emkay?

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2006-10-12 12:57|| 2006-10-12 12:57|| Front Page Top

#9 Quick way to slow Chinese influence in NKor:

Drop the NKor side of all the spans across the river. Fuel, Powertowers, Rail and Road.

Done with cruise missles in about 2 hours tops and initiated from outside Chinese SSKor and NKor airspace.

Keep those down for 2 weeks an North Korea is completely out of petroleum, and probably completely unable to feed the military, much less supply it and control it in an offensive.

Its Chinese support for he NKors that is the big issue onthe Korean question, just like Paki support of the talib is the root of the problem in in Afghanistan.

Posted by Oldspook 2006-10-12 14:05|| 2006-10-12 14:05|| Front Page Top

#10 Good cop, bad cop.

Posted by johnnycanuck">johnnycanuck 2006-10-12 19:57|| 2006-10-12 19:57|| Front Page Top

#11 Zen, I was going to blame it on insufficient caffein, but it still goes over my head. Just dense on this one, I guess.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2006-10-12 20:18|| 2006-10-12 20:18|| Front Page Top

23:57 Zenster
23:56 Icerigger
23:50 Icerigger
23:48 Tony (UK)
23:45 trailing wife
23:34 Zenster
23:34 Old Patriot
23:31 Lancasters Over Dresden
23:26 Tibor
23:04 Hupailing Ebbuns2352
23:03 Hupailing Ebbuns2352
23:03 Hupailing Ebbuns2352
23:01 Hupailing Ebbuns2352
22:42 tu3031
22:33 FOTSGreg
22:28 Alaska Paul
22:27 J.D. Lux
22:26 JosephMendiola
22:24 FOTSGreg
22:22 DMFD
22:19 JosephMendiola
22:18 Frank G
22:17 Frank G
22:16 DMFD