US general says US ready for NKorean attack

[Gawdzilla Sama]

US general says US ready for NKorean attack

By FOSTER KLUG – 2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top U.S. military commander in Korea said Tuesday that U.S. and South Korean forces are prepared for "anything North Korea can throw at us," regardless of the state of leader Kim Jong Il's health or of internal North Korean politics.

General Walter "Skip" Sharp told reporters that Kim should stop threatening the world with nuclear and missile tests and instead take care of his people and follow through on past commitments to abandon nuclear weapons programs.

The United States and North Korea's neighbors are working to enforce sanctions imposed by the United Nations to punish North Korea for its nuclear test in May, even as they push the North to resume stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.

Sharp, who spoke by video conference from New York, said that if diplomatic efforts fail, he is "absolutely confident" that the United States and South Korea can intercept North Korean missiles fired at the South and quickly and successfully defeat any land or sea attacks.

The North has threatened a "thousand-fold" military retaliation against the U.S. and its allies if provoked and has boasted of a "strong army that can impose merciless punishment against those who offend us." North Korea devotes much of the country's scarce resources to its 1.2 million-member military.

North and South Korea face off across the world's most heavily fortified border, the so-called Demilitarized Zone that has separated the two neighbors since the Korea War ended in 1953. The United States, South Korea's top ally, has 28,500 troops stationed in the country as a deterrent. South Korea has about 650,000 troops.

Kim appeared frail and gaunt in a public appearance last week, fueling speculation that his health is failing. Neighboring governments are worried that a dangerous political power struggle in the North could ensue if Kim were to die before any successor could solidify his rule.

Sharp would not comment on reports that Kim has cancer and has named his youngest son as heir. Sharp urged whoever leads North Korea to cease threats and said the United States was prepared for any North Korean aggression.

Sharp was also asked about North Korea's suspected involvement in cyberattacks last week that caused Web outages in the United States and South Korea. Sharp would not confirm news reports that the North was involved, saying officials still were working to see where the attacks came from. The U.S. military, he said, has not been hurt by the attacks, although he called them a worry.

The attacks, in which floods of computers tried to connect to a single Web site at the same time to overwhelm the server, caused outages on prominent government-run sites in the United States and South Korea.

North Korea quit the six-nation nuclear negotiations in April in anger over a U.N. rebuke of its long-range rocket launch. The country has since further ratcheted up tensions, conducting its second nuclear test and a series of banned missile launches.

[Clinton Huxley]

Well, he's not going to say, "Wait a minute, we're not quite ready yet", is he......?

[FBM]

Well, he's not going to say, "Wait a minute, we're not quite ready yet", is he......?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Well, he's not going to say, "Wait a minute, we're not quite ready yet", is he......?

Don't laugh, that's pretty much what they said in 1950.

[FBM]

Well, he's not going to say, "Wait a minute, we're not quite ready yet", is he......?

Don't laugh, that's pretty much what they said in 1950.

They were sure 'nuff, no-shit not ready then, weren't they?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Well, he's not going to say, "Wait a minute, we're not quite ready yet", is he......?

Don't laugh, that's pretty much what they said in 1950.

They were sure 'nuff, no-shit not ready then, weren't they?

Ready to retreat to Japan.

[Clinton Huxley]

Well, he's not going to say, "Wait a minute, we're not quite ready yet", is he......?

Don't laugh, that's pretty much what they said in 1950.

They were sure 'nuff, no-shit not ready then, weren't they?

Ready to retreat to Japan.

Yeah, until the "Glorious Gloucesters" saved the day...despite being bombed by the 'Merkins.....

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Yeah, until the "Glorious Gloucesters" saved the day...despite being bombed by the 'Merkins.....

I was referring to the 1950 events.

[Clinton Huxley]

Yeah, until the "Glorious Gloucesters" saved the day...despite being bombed by the 'Merkins.....

I was referring to the 1950 events.

'Zilla, you need to see the big picture, "1950" is a mere sociological construct and has no objective reality.

[FBM]

Ready to retreat to Japan.

If not for the Pusan Perimeter, I'd be back home fishin' for catfish and pettin' a redbone hound about right now.

Which doesn't sound so bad, actually...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Ready to retreat to Japan.

If not for the Pusan Perimeter, I'd be back home fishin' for catfish and pettin' a redbone hound about right now.

Which doesn't sound so bad, actually...

One time I used Pusan to point out that the NK couldn't have won the war alone. By the time they'd push the US/SK forces back to where they were concentrated into a solid line they were just stopped. Then that brazillion miles of indefensible coastline made an "end run" inevitable.

[klr]

...
Ready to retreat to Japan.

Yeah, until the "Glorious Gloucesters" saved the day...despite being bombed by the 'Merkins.....

Ah, the Imjin River ... where would we be without it?

On a not unrelated note, I am reading The Coldest Winter - America and the Korean War (David Halberstam) right now:

http://www.amazon.com/Coldest-Winter-Am ... 1401300529

[Gawdzilla Sama]

...
Ready to retreat to Japan.

Yeah, until the "Glorious Gloucesters" saved the day...despite being bombed by the 'Merkins.....

Ah, the Imjin River ... where would we be without it?

On a not unrelated note, I am reading The Coldest Winter - America and the Korean War (David Halberstam) right now:

http://www.amazon.com/Coldest-Winter-Am ... 1401300529

http://www.history.army.mil/html/booksh ... usakw.html

[klr]

...
Ready to retreat to Japan.

Yeah, until the "Glorious Gloucesters" saved the day...despite being bombed by the 'Merkins.....

Ah, the Imjin River ... where would we be without it?

On a not unrelated note, I am reading The Coldest Winter - America and the Korean War (David Halberstam) right now:

http://www.amazon.com/Coldest-Winter-Am ... 1401300529

http://www.history.army.mil/html/booksh ... usakw.html

Bookmarked (although I'm sure I have the base URL long since bookmarked).

[FBM]

Ready to retreat to Japan.

If not for the Pusan Perimeter, I'd be back home fishin' for catfish and pettin' a redbone hound about right now.

Which doesn't sound so bad, actually...

One time I used Pusan to point out that the NK couldn't have won the war alone. By the time they'd push the US/SK forces back to where they were concentrated into a solid line they were just stopped. Then that brazillion miles of indefensible coastline made an "end run" inevitable.

There's something in The Art of War that goes to the effect that if you put your troops in such a situation, nowhere to retreat, etc, each man becomes 5~10x more effective, so you in effect have a much bigger force. Or something like that. My copy is at the office.