And how would that sub prevent that from happening if the North Koreans decide to attack? With the amount of forces we have in the region, as well as those of South Korea and Japan the deployment of this sub means nothing to the result should war break out between North Korea and South Korea. This sub wasn't meant to counter the North Koreans, just like the F-22 wasn't built to fight terrorists. The end goal of all these spending on the most technologically advanced weapons was so that we would always be the sole super power militarily. The problem is we are so far ahead of anybody else in the world we are essentially in a arms race with ourselves with no end in sight.
Nukes are bad news for anyone. They wouldn't dare use one on SK considering the fallout will pretty much damage them too. China would also be affected by the blast which wouldn't help their relations with them either. Point is, it's a Mexican standoff and nobody wants to pull the trigger.
Did I say it would "prevent that from happening?" No. "This sub means nothing to the result should war break out between North Korea and South Korea" Again, I disagree. If, god forbid, war were to break out, or we had ironclad intel that war was actually imminent, those submarines could deliver over 500 cruise missiles exactly where they were sent, with little to no warning. Combined with our B-2 bombers and stealth fighters (actually not fighters, btw), they might be able to take out much of the civilian and military leadership, strategic assets, assets at air fields, naval bases, depending on how they are configured. None of this is anything any sane person would want to see play out, but to say that to use the submarines "against the North Koreans would be like using a cannon on a mosquito" is rediculous. I would pay more attention to your argument if you said it would be difficult to take out enough North Korean assets to make using them worthwhile on targets hardened against attack. These are not "blunt instruments," but rather weapons to use if needed for precision bombing to take out specific targets and to reduce civilian casualties, if those targets are in populated areas.
I think you are wrong. If North Korea felt they had nothing to lose, they may as well go down in a blaze of glory. Leadership there has never had any regard for human life. The only thing they care about is their own preservation. If the regime felt like their number was up, I expect them to unload on Seoul. You give them too much credit for sanity. To be clear, I don't think they actually want to pull the nuclear trigger. I'm just saying they WOULD pull it, probably faster than you think.
I don't think North Korea can realistically detonate a nuclear weapon unless they load it in the back of several trucks, haul it across the border, and reassemble it in Seoul prior to detonation. The concern should be the conventional artillery which is aimed at Seoul, but I guess that isn't as sexy in the "war on terror" world.
It's a catch-22, really... If you push too hard, throw down too many sanctions, NK is prone to retaliating eventually... But if you let things get out of hand, let them carry on with the BS they are pulling, they'll eventually flip the bird and f*** everyone over anyway...
Conventional knowledge is China bolsters North Korea as a military buffer against outside forces. China is North Korea's oxygen tank. The fact they DON'T have influence over North Korea does not mean they do not have CAPABILITY to have influence. Its like overestimating Congress's influence on US/Mexican border control, because Arizona is going maverick on their own border protection. Congress could have erected a 500 foot ball across the entire Rio Grande if they wanted. The wild card is, yes, North Korea leadership is unpredictable and insane and will only act on their own self interest regardless of super power control Using my "hood" analogy, driving a SWAT van by the drive-by scene won't put an end to gang violence and drug selling. But it will stabilize the area a little bit. Regardless of US defense overspending, the laughter you hear has a few nervous chuckles to it. 50 years ago those same vessels would be in full combat mode
Well using your analogy we have had SWAT vans parked in that area for the past 40 years, and all we are doing is sending in a newer more expensive van.
