So I have generally accepted the notion that this is an unsolvable problem. Either you accept the wholesale destruction of Seoul as the price of defeating the DPRK, meaning the loss of millions of lives and near complete destruction of South Korea's economy so that we can plant our flag on an already impoverished nation's capitol, or you accept that DPRK has nukes that can hit the U.S. mainland.
But it seems something may happen. I certainly hope that thing is not what I mention above. I hope that our military leadership is cleaver enough to imagine something better than that.
First I tried to contemplate the use of overwhelming ordnance, mostly bunker busters and MOABs, being hurled at the 13,000 conventional artillery installations in the mountains overlooking Seoul. Also moving in anti-missile/ missile defense systems close enough to be useful. At the same time you would hope that a surgical strike and/or assassination could be carried out to kill Kim Jung Un and leave the rest of the DPRK in a state of shock and confusion.
Maybe that's kind of possible. But the risk of failure seems high and the embarrassment (and I mean that to mean more than simple embarrassment) to the U.S. and our military prowess would be too great a risk to take for too small a prize.
So I wondered... What if something completely unexpected happened? Obviously that's the greatest military advantage, having something come from a direction so completely unexpected that it leaves all planning, all preparation, all predisposition rendered meaningless.
Let's start by considering that China would be in complete opposition to a U.S. occupation of North Korea. They do not want the U.S. or South Korea in control of the North Korean territory right on their boarder. This would be a massive provocation in our relationship with them, not to mention the potential that millions of South Koreans might be dead, South Korea's economy could be in complete ruin, the U.S. military might be looking like a ham fisted bully that throws its weight around not knowing where things are going to land. Russia would be emboldened. If we become occupied trying to right the mess in NK, Iran might also feel this is a good time to test us and press their luck.
So what if the U.S. takes no aggressive action against NK at all, yet the DPRK falls?
What if we convince China that either they act or we do? We give them the option to decapitate the Kim Jung Un regime and take control of North Korea or we convince them that the madman at the helm of the U.S. military will sacrifice Seoul and take NK himself? China gets to use the territory as a buffer between the U.S. and itself, it gains territory, it gains the military reputation and the credit for preventing millions of casualties.
If China were to attack NK the conventional artillery pointed at Seoul is meaningless. They can't fire on those who are not attacking them. In fact everything they have is pointed AWAY from China, towards SK and the U.S.. It makes irrelevant all of their power. It leaves them defenseless. Completely and utterly defenseless.
China is the hero. China in this single stroke cements itself as a new world super power.
I don't know... Seems crazy that China would agree to such a thing. But what if they really believe Trump is just dumb enough to take the lesser option and take NK for himself? I mean we can absolutely do it. If the U.S. wants to control NK before the new year we can. Then China has no say. Of course there is a peninsula of destruction, death, destitution left behind, but the U.S. absolutely can destroy NK if we're willing to sacrifice SK in the process.
Just a thought.
But it seems something may happen. I certainly hope that thing is not what I mention above. I hope that our military leadership is cleaver enough to imagine something better than that.
First I tried to contemplate the use of overwhelming ordnance, mostly bunker busters and MOABs, being hurled at the 13,000 conventional artillery installations in the mountains overlooking Seoul. Also moving in anti-missile/ missile defense systems close enough to be useful. At the same time you would hope that a surgical strike and/or assassination could be carried out to kill Kim Jung Un and leave the rest of the DPRK in a state of shock and confusion.
Maybe that's kind of possible. But the risk of failure seems high and the embarrassment (and I mean that to mean more than simple embarrassment) to the U.S. and our military prowess would be too great a risk to take for too small a prize.
So I wondered... What if something completely unexpected happened? Obviously that's the greatest military advantage, having something come from a direction so completely unexpected that it leaves all planning, all preparation, all predisposition rendered meaningless.
Let's start by considering that China would be in complete opposition to a U.S. occupation of North Korea. They do not want the U.S. or South Korea in control of the North Korean territory right on their boarder. This would be a massive provocation in our relationship with them, not to mention the potential that millions of South Koreans might be dead, South Korea's economy could be in complete ruin, the U.S. military might be looking like a ham fisted bully that throws its weight around not knowing where things are going to land. Russia would be emboldened. If we become occupied trying to right the mess in NK, Iran might also feel this is a good time to test us and press their luck.
So what if the U.S. takes no aggressive action against NK at all, yet the DPRK falls?
What if we convince China that either they act or we do? We give them the option to decapitate the Kim Jung Un regime and take control of North Korea or we convince them that the madman at the helm of the U.S. military will sacrifice Seoul and take NK himself? China gets to use the territory as a buffer between the U.S. and itself, it gains territory, it gains the military reputation and the credit for preventing millions of casualties.
If China were to attack NK the conventional artillery pointed at Seoul is meaningless. They can't fire on those who are not attacking them. In fact everything they have is pointed AWAY from China, towards SK and the U.S.. It makes irrelevant all of their power. It leaves them defenseless. Completely and utterly defenseless.
China is the hero. China in this single stroke cements itself as a new world super power.
I don't know... Seems crazy that China would agree to such a thing. But what if they really believe Trump is just dumb enough to take the lesser option and take NK for himself? I mean we can absolutely do it. If the U.S. wants to control NK before the new year we can. Then China has no say. Of course there is a peninsula of destruction, death, destitution left behind, but the U.S. absolutely can destroy NK if we're willing to sacrifice SK in the process.
Just a thought.
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