U.S. and S.Korea can defeat North-U.S. general says

[tocqueville]

Thu Feb 2, 11:42 PM ET


SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. and South Korean forces can defeat North Korea's army, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Friday, but figuring out the secretive state's military policy is a difficult challenge.

The United States has about 30,000 troops in South Korea working with about 690,000 South Korean troops. North Korea has most of its million-strong military positioned near the fortified Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula.

"We are fully capable today of defeating any North Korean aggression and we will maintain that capacity," General Peter Pace told reporters.

Pace said in defining a threat, he looked at the capability and capacity of a potential enemy as well as how they intended to use their military strength.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20060203/wl_nm/usa_korea_north_dc_1

[rooboy]

1. Curtis LeMay lives on... n/t

[Chipper Chat]

2. Aren't the north and south in unofficial talks to reunite?

Telephone lines reconnected? Mail service restarted? Why is warmongering by Pace necessary? Flame or enlighten me.

[jimshoes]

3. How's that Iraq thing going general?

Don't these people ever pick up a history book?

[Silverhair]

4. Don't YOU ever read history, specifically the Korean War, 1950 & on?

The general was talking about defeating an NK invasion. He was not talking about invading and occupying NK.

Considering the status of S. Korea today, I would say that things have gone quite well in S. Korea.

BTW - The NK were the blatant agressors in 1950. And if they tried to attack again today they would get their butts handed to them, although they would do serious damage to Seoul because it is within artillery range of the DMZ.

[jimshoes]

6. Didn't we kind of fight to

stalemate in the 50's? As far as handing the NK their ass, I have some doubts. And just how well do you trust the South Koreans?

[Silverhair]

7. You really should read history.

The NKs got clobbered by the Inchon landing. It completely severed their supply lines. We quickly pushed almost up to the Yalu. After that it was a Chinese vs UN (Yes, a United Nations action. Although the US supplied most of the manpower.) fight. The Chinese pushed us far back, and then we pushed them to about what is now the DMZ which was about the old 38th parallel boundary. Politically, it was decided to fight a no-win war, aiming for a stalemate. The fear in Washington was that liberating NK would bring the Russians into the fight and possibly ignite WWIII. The war continued for about two years after that. The Chinese Army was largely light infantry with poor logistics with terrible communications (They were still using bugles for troop combat commands.) and could have been push back to the Yalu after we had recovered from the initial shock of their entry into the war.

How well do I trust the SKs? Do you think that they would welcome an NK army with open arms???? Only a few very misguided students are under any illusions about NK. The rest of the populace knows what the Kims have done, and want no part of it. The ROK army is modern, tough, professional, and would be fighting on their own turf, for their own country.

SK has many times the economic strength of NK. That means they can afford the modern tools of war. NK still has widespread serious food shortages.

[jimshoes]

8. Tell me, who won the war.

You sound like you want to fight the Korean war a second time. Police action wasn't it?

[Silverhair]

10. Did NK manage to conquer SK?

There is your answer to that question. The rest of your post is simply a silly accusation. Police action was indeed the euphemism for it, but I don't like euphemisms. I prefer to call a war, a war.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

5. "Shock and Awe"? Worked sooo well in Iraq.

The "World's Mightiest Military" better stick to "enemies" it can handle - like Mighty Grenada.

[warrens]

9. Yeah, if you don't mind them nuking Seoul, that is

What a clown. Wonder what the South Koreans think of him offering them up for massacre?

[Silverhair]

11. He was talking about defending SK from NK attack.

The SK/US doctrine towards NK is containment, and wait for NK to fall from internal problems. He was not talking about attacking NK.