What do we do with North Korea?

[ananda]

And there are few, if any, in the media that intentionally published false information to start a war.

Me too.

But questioning things is not the same as saying that they are wrong. I accept all of mainstream media as a fact finding industry with a good track record. Yes, they sometimes get things wrong. But the vast majority of what they say is true, so if I read something in the newspaper, I tend to trust it as most likely true.

I do not say that they are wrong. I am generally agnostic towards it all.

 

[doubtingmerle]

I do not say that they are wrong. I am generally agnostic towards it all.

And so that is your response to all news? You are just agnostic to it?

One should always be willing to question news reports, but simply responding to all news stories with agnosticism to what we read, is a sad state to be in. When professional news organizations around the world independently state the same thing, then we are best to assume that what they write is most likely true unless proven otherwise.

 

[ananda]

And so that is your response to all news? You are just agnostic to it?

One should always be willing to question news reports, but simply responding to all news stories with agnosticism to what we read, is a sad state to be in. When professional news organizations around the world independently state the same thing, then we are best to assume that what they write is most likely true unless proven otherwise.

I am - at best - agnostic to those "news providers" that have 1. demonstrated willful deception in the past, and/or 2. add opinion/commentary to the plain facts of the "news".

 

[FireDragon76]

North Korea's brutal regime doesn't deserve much respect.

Maybe the uncertainty that Trump brings will drive NK to the negotiating table.

I am not a fan of Trump on the whole but on this issue I don't disagree with Trump alot. Playing around with NK with kid gloves hasn't advanced the long term stability in the region.

 

[RDKirk]

North Korea's brutal regime doesn't deserve much respect.

Maybe the uncertainty that Trump brings will drive NK to the negotiating table.

I am not a fan of Trump on the whole but on this issue I don't disagree with Trump alot. Playing around with NK with kid gloves hasn't advanced the long term stability in the region.

Uncertainty causes the weaker party to shoot first.

 

[lasthero]

North Korea's brutal regime doesn't deserve much respect.

Maybe the uncertainty that Trump brings will drive NK to the negotiating table.

I am not a fan of Trump on the whole but on this issue I don't disagree with Trump alot. Playing around with NK with kid gloves hasn't advanced the long term stability in the region.

They've made it pretty clear that any deal that involves them not having nukes is a non-starter, we've made it pretty clear that any deal that invokes them having nukes is a non-starter.

I really don't see much room for negotiation.

 

[RDKirk]

They've made it pretty clear that any deal that involves them not having nukes is a non-starter, we've made it pretty clear that any deal that invokes them having nukes is a non-starter.

I really don't see much room for negotiation.

The US has made it pretty clear to both North Korea and Iran that we intend to invade them if they don't have nukes.

 

[Aldebaran]

The US has made it pretty clear to both North Korea and Iran that we intend to invade them if they don't have nukes.

If that were the case, we would have invaded them (NK) at any time up until just recently. As for Iran, who supposedly still doesn't have them, still hasn't been invaded.

 

[RDKirk]

If that were the case, we would have invaded them (NK) at any time up until just recently. As for Iran, who supposedly still doesn't have them, still hasn't been invaded.

A lot of time left in Trump's term.

 

[Aldebaran]

A lot of time left in Trump's term.

Suggesting that we will invade NK if they give up their nukes, and that we will invade Iran if they don't start developing them?

 

[RDKirk]

Suggesting that we will invade NK if they give up their nukes, and that we will invade Iran if they don't start developing them?

That's the message the North Korea and Iran have been receiving from the US for several years now. They take the invasion of Iraq as the demonstration that the US is not bluffing.

 

[Aldebaran]

That's the message the North Korea and Iran have been receiving from the US for several years now. They take the invasion of Iraq as the demonstration that the US is not bluffing.

I'm sure there's a big difference between invading either country simply to take something such as resources, and going there to end a threat. I'm not sure which type of invasion either of them is worried about.

 

[RDKirk]

I'm sure there's a big difference between invading either country simply to take something such as resources, and going there to end a threat. I'm not sure which type of invasion either of them is worried about.

To the country being invaded, the pretext of the invader is irrelevant.

 

[Aldebaran]

To the country being invaded, the pretext of the invader is irrelevant.

The pretext. That being the "reason", I'm sure it would be made clear to them ahead of time. Iran: stop your nuclear weapons program and threatening to wipe Israel off the map with it. NK: Do not set off an H-Bomb over the Pacific and radiate hundreds of square miles of the ocean. And stop threatening to nuke Guam or other allies of the USA.

See, it's not as if they don't have a way of preventing an attack or invasion by us. They know what would cause it to happen. So they know how to prevent it.

 

[TLK Valentine]

The pretext. That being the "reason", I'm sure it would be made clear to them ahead of time. Iran: stop your nuclear weapons program and threatening to wipe Israel off the map with it. NK: Do not set off an H-Bomb over the Pacific and radiate hundreds of square miles of the ocean. And stop threatening to nuke Guam or other allies of the USA.

See, it's not as if they don't have a way of preventing an attack or invasion by us. They know what would cause it to happen. So they know how to prevent it.

Don't you think that NK already knows what the response would be if they were to actually attack?

 

[Aldebaran]

Don't you think that NK already knows what the response would be if they were to actually attack?

Supposedly. The fact that they continued firing missiles and developing them to fly further, threatened to take out Guam, and then upped their nuclear program to the H-Bomb level, and then threatened to set one off in the open makes it look like they don't fully understand yet.
Keep in mind that the post you replied to was in response to what was said by someone else in post #113 (just so you understand the context this time).

 

[TLK Valentine]

Supposedly. The fact that they continued firing missiles and developing them to fly further, threatened to take out Guam, and then upped their nuclear program to the H-Bomb level, and then threatened to set one off in the open makes it look like they don't fully understand yet.

Oh, but they do understand.

Ever read Romeo and Juliet? the opening scene is of the servants of both the Capulets and Montagues trading jibes and insults at one another, each side piling on more and more, trying to goad the other into throwing the first punch. There's a reason for that.

 

[Aldebaran]

Oh, but they do understand.

Ever read Romeo and Juliet? the opening scene is of the servants of both the Capulets and Montagues trading jibes and insults at one another, each side piling on more and more, trying to goad the other into throwing the first punch. There's a reason for that.

Was that supposed to be relevant to what we're talking about?

 

[TLK Valentine]

Was that supposed to be relevant to what we're talking about?

Sorry if you missed the analogy. Allow me to help you by pointing out that while I see a lot of words flying between NK and the US, I don't see a lot of fists flying between them -- "fists," of course, being analogous for missiles in this particular context.

You seem Alde, while open war may very well be inevitable, neither side want to be seen as the aggressor.

 

[RDKirk]

Supposedly. The fact that they continued firing missiles and developing them to fly further, threatened to take out Guam, and then upped their nuclear program to the H-Bomb level, and then threatened to set one off in the open makes it look like they don't fully understand yet.
Keep in mind that the post you replied to was in response to what was said by someone else in post #113 (just so you understand the context this time).

The point you don't see is that the US has firmly convinced both Iran and North Korea of an intention to destroy their governments--a decision already made to be executed at a future moment chosen at the discretion of the US. They are utterly convinced of that.

Iran entered a deal with the US to restrain its nuclear program, but the US then stated that it would not be held to any agreement and reserved the right to attack Iran anyway at any time, regardless of agreement.

At this point, both nations are convinced their nuclear programs are necessary self-defense against the United States, and no amount of additional threats is going to convince them otherwise.