Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Stuart G

(38,414 posts)
Wed Aug 9, 2017, 03:14 PM Aug 2017

Why it could take months for the US to get ready for war with North Korea: CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/09/politics/us-north-korea-war-signals/index.html
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Despite bellicose rhetoric coming from US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, analysts say there are no signs the US is planning a first strike on North Korea or that Kim will make good on threats to hit the US territory of Guam.

The US military isn't in any position right now to strike North Korea with the kind of campaign that would be needed to bring battlefield success and would need weeks, if not months, to sort out the logistics, analysts say.
Mark Hertling, a retired US Army general and CNN analyst, said the tens of thousands of US civilians, many of them military dependents, would first need to be evacuated from South Korea.

"How do you get the families off the peninsula? You have to do that first," he said.

The US would also need to add to its forces in the region in what Hertling called "a reinforcement of shooters." These would include US Navy ships and submarines armed with cruise missiles, plus Air Force bombers that could operate out of bases in Japan or Guam, he said.

(rest of article at link)
11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

tazkcmo

(7,300 posts)
3. Behind every Service Member (SM)
Wed Aug 9, 2017, 03:20 PM
Aug 2017

Are 30 pieces of paper that dictate what that SM will do, where and how long. Multiply that by 500k and that's just the paper work. Now add in things like bullets, food, toilet paper and tanks. Yeah, we might be able to sting like a bee but we sure don't float like a butterfly!

MineralMan

(146,286 posts)
4. Trump doesn't know this. It's among the many things
Wed Aug 9, 2017, 03:40 PM
Aug 2017

he doesn't know. He thinks he can give an order and North Korea would be dust within 24 hours. He has zero understanding of military operations or the planning and preparation that goes into them.

So, he makes threats he can't even carry out. While an initial attack against North Korea would certainly be possible, it would not in any way be adequate to prevent an assault on Seoul and our military bases in South Korea that would result in massive destruction and loss of life.

He probably also thinks that if he orders a nuclear attack, that would take place instantly and wipe out the whole of North Korea. While it's true that a few nukes could be launched in an attack immediately, it would take far longer for followup attacks.

But, he will be advised, in the strongest of terms, that using nuclear weapons is not a valid choice. That's because world opinion would be universal against such an action and we would find ourselves without friends and allies immediately. There is no possible positive outcome from such a decision. None. And there are many, many people who would make that clear to PINO Trump.

If he persists in ordering such a thing, I doubt he would survive, in reality.

If he fails to ensure that innocent civilian Americans are evacuated from South Korea prior to a major assault on North Korea, he would find himself impeached and removed in days by a violently angry Congress.

Donald Trump does not understand much of anything, really, yet he persists in blustering and issuing useless threats he cannot turn into real actions. But, he doesn't know that. He thinks that his orders will be carried out, instanter, by his military forces. He doesn't realize that instant action is not possible in conventional warfare. It simply is not.

That is how stupid Donald Trump is. He knows nothing. He understands nothing. He speaks out of his ass every time he opens his mouth. It is time for Congress to remove this buffoon of a President. Congress should take up impeachment as soon as they return to DC and make it their only priority until the Senate has removed him from office.

arthritisR_US

(7,287 posts)
5. Given these realities it must be pointed out that NK
Wed Aug 9, 2017, 03:46 PM
Aug 2017

does not have these same constraints. One can only hope that their child leader is not as knee jerk as the orange shitgibbon.

MineralMan

(146,286 posts)
6. That is correct. North Korea has been planning an invasion
Wed Aug 9, 2017, 03:47 PM
Aug 2017

of South Korea for decades, and could put it into action almost immediately. Trump doesn't know that, either.

arthritisR_US

(7,287 posts)
7. Surely his military advisers must be cognizant of this and,
Wed Aug 9, 2017, 03:52 PM
Aug 2017

I would hope, advising him on this. Perhaps his advisers should put this in a pop up book that he could digest

 

alcibiades_mystery

(36,437 posts)
9. Kim Jong Un is not gonna sit on his hands like Saddam while troops and equipment mass on his border
Wed Aug 9, 2017, 04:39 PM
Aug 2017

At the first hint of war preparation, he's moving forward.

 

Not Ruth

(3,613 posts)
11. The lack of Intel that this was happening, combined with Trump's lack of military preparedness
Wed Aug 9, 2017, 04:58 PM
Aug 2017

Makes this the single greatest intelligence agency and military failure in the history of the US. It makes Pearl Harbor look like a blip.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Why it could take months ...