North Korea's missile-- time for a surgical strike?

JPL · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 3256

North Korea's Taepodong-2 intercontinental ballistic missile is thought to have a range of up to 9,300 miles, enough to carry a nuclear warhead from North Korea to Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, or even Denver.

A successful test of a Taepodong-2 will enable the North Korean's to gather the hard data they need to target US cities for destruction.

At what point, if any, should the US use a surgical strike to take out North Korea's Taepodong-2 and its launch pad in order to prevent this hostile nation from continuing to advance its intercontinental ballistic missile program?

skiter · Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:33 pm Post subject:

That place is a copulating rat's nest. Bombing it would be a very bad idea. They have 11,000 pieces of artillery pointed at Seoul. It could get very ugly, very fast. I vote for diplomacy/more sanctions.

skiter · Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:37 pm Post subject:

ps. China is on our side in this crisis. Let's exhaust all diplomatic options.

robrox · Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 7:53 pm Post subject:

Yesterday I hear some folks in the know hoping some moron at the Pentagon doesn't actually try using our Missle Defense capability (oxymoron?) to intercept their test missle, blasting it to smithereens.

Bad both ways:
1 It means we are worried Confused

2 If (When?) we miss it that will demo our vulnerability Rolling Eyes

_________________
"Moderate is not the new Low" - Chris Joosen, USFS Lead Snow Ranger (Tuckerman Ravine, White Mountains National Forest)

keithermadness · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 24793

The Hemmingway notion of war would evaporate in a few minds by Enlisting. See, feel and smell it for real.
_________________
~km

"Everyday is a potential avalanche day."
-Missiongravity

RDC · Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 1897

There is no such thing as a surgical strike on North Korea. N.K. has thousands of artillary pieces deeply dug in and fortified in the nountains within range of Seoul. You cannot hit North Korea without having Seoul get destroyed.

Might be a good time for an operational test of the missile defense system, though. When Korea makes a statement by conducting the test, make a statement by taking the missile out. The tests of the system have gone fairly well, and the type missile N.K. is testing is exactly the type it was designed to take out.

Jon Sulzer · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 207

Here is what Clinton's Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and Ashton B. Carter, Perry's assistant secretary of defense, had to say on the matter in yesterday's Washington Post:

skiter · Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 8:54 pm Post subject:

will the surgical strike destroy the blueprints and the capacity to build another too? Confused

robrox · Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006 9:06 pm Post subject:

cascade of events...

Listen, those oleBoys in Pyongyang are still in the "Rally Round the Flag Boys" stage of development.

Their nation is on the brink of bankruptcy every minute of every day...they have little to loose by kicking off the Big One and they just might prosper....

Pre-emptive strike? Sweet Jesus, that's just asinine. They will retaliate against South Korea and Japan..and prolly take a few shots at the Alaska Pipeline too.

As crazed as their leaders are they probably have nasty surprises "sleeping" in worrisome places...If I were in their position I most certainly would!

Take a deep breath....
If we strike that missle and it goes the way I think it will as a result; after the dust clouds start settling China will call in our paper and we will be lapdogs infact....
_________________
"Moderate is not the new Low" - Chris Joosen, USFS Lead Snow Ranger (Tuckerman Ravine, White Mountains National Forest)

keithermadness · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 24793

What world!
_________________
~km

"Everyday is a potential avalanche day."
-Missiongravity

compleat skier · Joined: 12 Sep 2005 Posts: 378 Location: Rocky Mountains

We are reaping the fruits of Clinton's appeasement.

Take out NK's missile and while we are at it, their nuke plants as well.

Do it now.

keithermadness · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 24793

I haven't heard this kind of bizzar thought expressed since the days of LSD!

Crack is indeed more dangerous.
_________________
~km

"Everyday is a potential avalanche day."
-Missiongravity

skifreeK · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 11426

Just to think a bit outside the box a bit....if I'm a crazed North Korean leader looking to shake things up a bit on the world stage:

1) Why waste a missile on just a test? Load that sucker up and let's test it all at once.

2) Why launch towards any of the expected sites? Drop one in around the Strait of Hormuz and get much more bang for the buck than just hitting some place in Japan or the US.

Yep, you'd have to be crazy to do it, but that's the point with NK, isn't it?

Ron R. · Joined: 15 Dec 2004 Posts: 837

keithermadness · Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 24793

The six years since Clinton has been wasted on other things...perhaps we need two more years Rolling Eyes

_________________
~km

"Everyday is a potential avalanche day."
-Missiongravity