Monday, June 26, 2006
North Korean Skeet Shooting **
I've been patiently listening to all three sides of the North Korean Missile Test argument. Patiently because two of the arguments are just plain stupid even thought they're being spewed out by members of our government. (Why does that really surprise me?)
The first stupid idea is to let them launch and then continue negotiating with Kim Jong. It's just a missile test, it's no big deal and they have the right to do it.
- They may have a right to test a missile, but when they launch it over a nation that we've sworn to defend, and it travels in the direction of our West Coast, (which we've also sworn to sort of defend... I guess) that is not a test. It's an act of aggression. To do nothing is what we used to do in the 1990s, which is why Osama proclaimed the U.S. as a 'Paper Tiger.' Anyone who thinks that we should do nothing should go stand in the bottom of a hole out in Shanksville, PA and ponder that really stupid suggestion. I would have recommended NYC's Gound Zero, but that hole is filled with a bunch of contractors and city politicians standing around waiting for someone to tell them what to build... still.
The second stupid idea is to pre-empt the missile launch and destroy it while it's on the ground. After all, our national security policy is to pre-empt, so why not North Korea?
- To launch a pre-emptive strike on North Korea over a missile test is like karate kicking a hive of killer bees. Sure, you're going to make a point, but you're also going to stir up something you can't stop... a can of North Korean Whoop-Ass also known as a retaliatory strike on South Korea. Remember, they've got 200,000+ troops on the DMZ, whereas we've got maybe 7,000 right there on the boarder. It wouldn't be pretty. A pre-emptive strike over a missile test is overkill. To suggest it only shows a lack of understanding of how the world really works, and how the U.S. became the sole superpower on the block.
The third, and probably best, argument is to use the missile launch to our advantage. Tell North Korea that we're not happy with their upcoming test, and warn them that it won't be looked upon as a peaceful act... then wait. If they launch, we immediately fire every missile defense system at it that we've got.. Whether from an Aegis Cruiser or the Missile Shield silos up in Alaska, shoot at and kill the incoming ballistic missile... and kill it good. After all, we informed them that their launch would be viewed as an act of aggression, so we defended ourselves. You do not launch over our allies that you've threatened for 50 years, and you do not launch in our direction after we've warned you not to.
Of course if we miss we'll be caught with our pants down, so DON'T FREAK'N MISS!
Either way, this is the 21st Century in a Post-9/11 world, so everything matters and everything is on the table. In this world, if you strap a pair on be prepared to have them cut right back off.
** Title Courtesy of Uncle Jimbo at BlackFive.Com, who's got a similar viewpoint on the matter.
posted by El Capitan at 1:57 PM
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