If they listened to me, those troops would be in San Diego right now. Now, how good is it that I'm not in charge of U.S. foreign policy! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

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Foreign Policy?, Foreign Policy!.....We don' need no steenkin foreign policy
http://smilies.sofrayt.com/%5E/e/bigun.gif

:D
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<font color = lightgreen>The North Koreans don't have a very strong hand right now...all they can do is bluff. Besides, China doesn't care nearly as much about Korea as they do about Taiwan, which is what they really want ("rogue province" and all that).

By loudly parading their nuclear program, they are hoping that the rest of the world will invite them to the negotiating table; they want to negotiate to improve their position in the world (economically speaking), but to come right out and ask this would be to lose face. One dare not lose face when one is in politics, you know.

Didn't the Korean War end with merely a cease fire rather than a peace accord? [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] This would mean that technically it never really ended....</font>

Sorry mate I have to put a few points right here [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img]

New Zealand: Strained US ally, does not allow US nuclear ships in its waters, but apart from that, only military recognised in conjunction with its big brother Australia. What the hell is this terrorism stuff? It’s probably the safest place in the world outside of Greenland. The only terrorism it has suffered is by the hands of the French government. And do not think they have, or will ever forget. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Australia: Strong military power :eek: [img]graemlins/blush.gif[/img] eeerr the military readily admit it cannot even defend our borders in a concentrated attack, and it's geared up to being a army using hit and run, sabotage and general delaying tactics, *like those it used in Iraq and Afghanistan*. Hopefully giving some other country around the world time to come to our aid.

And where is the mention of Indonesia? Only the biggest Muslim nation on earth and also the 4th largest nation on earth. Just a few miles from our doorstep, I'm sure if you imagined yourself living in Hawaii, and N.America was an unfriendly Muslim nation sat there watching your every move. People in the US would start to realise our predicament. I was waiting for some else to point this out to you [img]smile.gif[/img] but it seems there are a lot of people out there in the land of uncle Sam who did foreign policy the G.W.Bush way :rolleyes:

ok here is my own opinion regarding this matter. personally, i think NK would do something drastic sooner or later (whether military or not) because its country is suffering (hunger, bleak economic status) and the works. the entire structure of its communism is kinda breaking down since everyone is starving over there. second i agree china would not do something foolish since its own economic growth is slowing down and its people (how many millions of poeple) nearly alot of them is worse than an average poor person in the world. poverty is rampant in both NK and China. If china does anything military and cause US-china relationship to break, it would mean a breakdown of structure of its economy. i think think that Kim (was that his name?) NK president will have to do something simply because his ecnomy is suffering with the UN restriciton. if he goes to war he loses, if he does nothing he also loses (in a long term basis).

if the US military gets out and satisfy many South koreans, then the NK invade, then i guess that many SOuth koreans would clamor the US back for help. personally, let them learn thier lesson but the innocent would be also affected in that catastrophe so i dont want that either. but i also think that the US presence in the DMZ would not do anything but slow the attack of NK if they do invade. imagine the ration of the army of NK and SK (with US) is vastly different. and seoul the capital of SK is very near too..

Harkoliar is right. Pyongyang is desperate. He has military but no food. He will act sooner than later.

This was a nice summary:
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/sto...F&SECTION=HOME

Nice post, Wellard. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] I still think that if we are going to defend SK, the best thing would be to pull out of NK's present artillery range and build defendable bases (conventionally - I really doubt that the Dear Leader is stupid enough to ris knukes on US troops as that would invite massive nuclear retaliation) and wait until athe aircraft carriers and C-17s arrive. And, yes, Azred, the Korean Conflict was ended by a cease-fire, only.

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Wellard, Im not sure what your last sentence ment...

As for Australia being a strong military...reletively they are. They have good equipment, great technology and yes, they may be undermanned for the size of the continent they defend, but I will tell you they are no wimps and nothing to be dismissed lightly. Sure there are bigger armies and larger forces but most of them are like Iraq's....you hit them and they fold.</font>

[ 06-08-2003, 10:52 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

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Attalus [img]smile.gif[/img] I would say sitting on the south side of over a million land mines is quite a defensible place to be. The north rolling south overthat mine field will not be a very happy experience for them....meanwhile they are sitting ducks.......That land mine field is also the reason the US cannot sign the big international anti-landmine accord, since the Euro's don't want to allow it as the exception to the rule. </font>

Yeah, MagiK, I know about the landmines, but they don't protect us against artillery fire. Can't the ROK's handle the field, or at leastr can't we control the field from the south of there?