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Is Korea going to war?
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Anonymous
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Expats recalled as North Korea prepares for war
By Shaun Walker in Moscow, 27 November 2010 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/expats-recalled-as-north-korea-prepares-for-war-2145018.html
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Anonymous
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I think it's looking pretty tense.
If N and S Korea do go to war, what will that mean for the US? |
Anonymous
| I'm just psyched for M*A*S*H to come back. |
Anonymous
What will happen to our base and troops already stationed in S Korea? |
Anonymous
Sarah Palin? Is that you? |
Anonymous
If those two countries go to war, it means they will be joined by a lot more of our troops. It is a bad, bad thing if that border gets crossed. |
Anonymous
Probably. Because M*A*S*H was really about Vietnam. Most people got this. |
Anonymous
You are kidding, right? |
Anonymous
No, I am not. Robert Altman made M*A*S*H an allegory for the Vietnam war. He could not get a movie about Vietnam through the conservative ranks of Fox, who were more interested in their big patriot hits, Tora! Tora! Tora! and Patton. So he used a book about the Korean War to tell the story of Vietnam in a way that could get approved. It is a fine allegory. And this was understood by the audience of the day. When they saw the original cut, Fox actually made them insert references to "Korea" because Altman had practically scrubbed the word from the movie. Here is an excerpt from the director:
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jsteele
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Here's an interesting document on Wikileaks. It seems North Korea and Mongolia have annual discussions. In August 2009, someone from the Mongolian delegation gave the US Embassy a read out on the discussion that had just occurred. Notably, the North Koreans didn't offer criticism of the US during the discussions and were very eager for bilateral talks with the US. They were very excited about Bill Clinton's trip to free the two journalists and were ready to denuclearize in exchange for a non-aggression agreement with the US. Seems like a lost opportunity.
http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/2009/08/09ULAANBAATAR234.html |
Anonymous
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Interesting. They have always wanted bilateral talks. I believe this was the policy until 2002 or 2003, when we changed policy and refused to participate in anything except talks that involved all of the regional players. I think it changed around the time of the Axis of Evil speech. But in fairness to that administration, I think that may also have been after North Korea started ramping up its nuclear activity.
Since that time, I think the Bush administration had dangled the carrot of bilateral negotiations with North Korea in exchange for behaving on the nuclear front. If you google it, you will probably see references to this around 2007 or 2008. So I am guessing that this is not a singular, missed opportunity. The issue of bilateral vs. regional talks is something that frequently comes up. It seems esoteric to people not involved, but it is a serious subject. The main criticism of the Arab-Israeli peace accord was that it was a bilateral agreement between Israel and Egypt. By doing this, Israel secured its flank, a large border across which sat the largest army it faced. Israel was able to do this without settling with its other neighbors. This left Lebanon, Syria, and the other interests dangling and they did not like that. In this case, however, I am guessing that bilateral negotiations would be accepted in the region, because the threat of a nuclear North Korea is paramount for everyone. |
Anonymous
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UNSC split over denouncing N. Korea for shelling S. Korean island: diplomats
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/12/20/39/0301000000AEN20101220000300315F.HTML Dec. 19 The U.N. Security Council convened an emergency meeting Sunday to discuss rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, but is divided over whether to denounce North Korea's shelling of a South Korean island on the western sea border. Britain, supported by the United States and France, proposed a draft statement to "deplore" North Korea's "attack" on Yeonpyeong Island that killed four people last month, the first attack on South Korean soil since the 1950-53 Korean War, a Western diplomat told reporters after a morning session. "We will continue to discuss the draft statement in the afternoon session," the diplomat said, but added two other veto powers, China and Russia, oppose any statement denouncing North Korea. "There is a big gap between the sides," he said. The meeting was held at the request of Russia, which called on South Korea to cancel plans for live-fire drills in the seas off Yeonpyeong Island and return to the six-party talks to discuss the rising tensions and North Korea's nuclear programs. Despite North Korea's threats of retaliation, South Korea plans to hold live-fire drills on Yeonpyeong Island, near the disputed sea border in the Yellow Sea, Monday or Tuesday, depending on weather conditions in an apparent show of force against North Korea. |
Anonymous
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Steps Seoul will take against N.K. provocation
http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101219000247 2010-12-19 How South Korea will respond to possible North Korean provocations following its planned live-fire drill on Yeonpyeong Island is drawing attention as the communist state has stepped up its verbal threats of a “deadlier” strike. Following the Nov. 23 artillery attack on the border island in the West Sea, the Seoul government has vowed stronger retaliation, including air strike, by exercising the right of self-defense in case of another North Korean attack. The South Korean military, which came under fire for its allegedly slow and inadequate responses to the attack that killed four South Koreans including two civilians, has been bracing for an “immediate and strong” retaliation. Undeterred by the strong determination of the South, the North has intensified its threats of further provocations. On Saturday, North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said in a statement, “There is no guarantee that the reckless warfare exercise will not lead to an actual war.” To prepare against North Korean provocations during the exercise, which officials said will take place Monday or Tuesday, the military has deployed additional K-9 self-propelled howitzers, multiple launch rocket systems and a new artillery tracking radar. For the exercise, the military is expected to mobilize K-9 self-propelled howitzers, 105mm towed artillery guns, Vulcan guns and 81mm mortars for the exercise, officials said. It has also put its F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets on emergency standby. |
Anonymous
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N.Korea Deploys Rocket Launchers Along West Coast
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/12/20/2010122000375.html North Korea has deployed multiple rocket launchers along the shore north of Yeonpyeong, Baeknyeong and Gangwha islands in response to a planned South Korean artillery drill on Yeonpyeong, government sources here say. The North earlier threatened an "unpredicted self-defense counterattack" to the drills. A South Korean government source said, "After making the threat in a message sent Friday, North Korea raised the alert level at artillery divisions on the west coast and deployed the multiple rocket launchers." The source added the South Korean military is monitoring the situation. The North also reportedly made coastal artillery ready to fire and put some fighter jets on the west coast on standby. |
Anonymous
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South Korea island residents told to move to bunkers
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101220/wl_nm/us_korea_north_drills?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter YEONPYEONG, South Korea (Reuters) – South Korean marines have ordered residents of Yeonpyeong island to move to air raid bunkers in anticipation of a live-fire drill on Monday. North Korea has threatened to strike if the South went ahead with the drill from the island off the Korean peninsula's west coast and in disputed waters between the rival Koreas. |