[talaniman]

China needs to put a leash on it's pet. A muzzle would be nice too. Maybe a few muzzles on some right wing pets is needed here too.

[paraclete]

Seems Trump knows how to respond when things so in the right direction he is learning you catch more flies with honey

China needs to put a leash on it's pet. A muzzle would be nice too. Maybe a few muzzles on some right wing pets is needed here too.

Tal I don't think you have a muzzle big enough for Trump, but the lack of sound over the last few days has been welcomed

[talaniman]

Sure we do, but he surrounds himself with coward and sycophants.

[tomder55]

You all should pay a little more attention to what Ex says. He was on the front like in 1962 when we last faced off with guns and bombs pointed over the issue of a rogue state and loony leader of that state having access to nukes . Castro was the Kim ;a crackpot caudillo who was (I'll be generous ) difficult to measure.
The US was prepared for war ;Russia was prepared for war . But neither side wanted it and that is the only reason we did not come to blows . What we did not know at the time was that Castro was encouraging the Russians to use the missiles they had placed in Cuba . He wanted that war . Kennedy somberly laid out the reality to the American people what was at stake . It was more likely that a spark would ignite WWIII than not .We did not know that a Russian sub had our fleet in it's cross hairs .We did not know that the Russians deployed tactical nukes near GITMO .But he spelled out what we did know and what was at stake . (no I don't think herr Donald is up to the moment ....that was the main reason I did not vote for him)

Does Kim want to avoid war ? Unknown . Should we take that chance ? He appears to be reckless in his testing ;firing over neighbor's land and territory . He has also provoked incidents against SK that have led to loss of life . His infatuation with nukes surpasses the 12ers in Tehran.
So how long do we live with this threat ? Does anyone have any evidence that China can reign him in ? When do we move ? He has according to reports the ability to miniaturize nukes to fit on rockets . He has MIRV .From what I can tell ;the only thing he has not developed yet is the capability to have his rockets reenter the atmosphere . So for now his rockets only have the capacity to reach ..... oh maybe Seattle .
The Chinese have taken the public position that they will remain neutral ONLY if Kim strikes first .
So do we wait for the opening salvo ?
I don't think so.

I joked around and said we should all stoically incinerate . But that is not really the answer . The Kim regime has answered strategic patience by plowing ahead and gleefully ignoring the carrot gestures .

It is in our national interest to remove Kim and disarm him . It has to be done with or without the Chinese approval .
But we should first attempt to get their approval or assistance . How ? By assuring them that we will not be into nation building . We will tell them that we will not support any attempt by SK to reunite the peninsula . We will not attempt to 'democratize ' the NORKS . We will instead agree that the Chinese can install their own puppet person to run the country .
I hope that is enough . This gordian knot cannot hang over us for long .

[talaniman]

I think Tillerson has pretty much said the same thing, but if we haven't been preparing for the day a fool would be armed with a weapon of mass destruction and uses it, then we are fools. Hope for the best, plan for the worst?

I start with a short leash on our own FOOL-in-chief!

[tomder55]

but if we haven't been preparing for the day a fool would be armed with a weapon of mass destruction and uses it, then we are fools.

I remind you what the left's reaction was when Reagan said " What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security did not rest upon the threat of instant U.S. retaliation to deter a Soviet attack, that we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil or that of our allies?I know this is a formidable, technical task, one that may not be accomplished before the end of this century. Yet, current technology has attained a level of sophistication where it's reasonable for us to begin this effort. It will take years, probably decades of effort on many fronts. There will be failures and setbacks, just as there will be successes and breakthroughs. And as we proceed, we must remain constant in preserving the nuclear deterrent and maintaining a solid capability for flexible response. But isn't it worth every investment necessary to free the world from the threat of nuclear war? We know it is."



Oh how he was ridiculed !!! But since 1983 there has been real strides in missile defense systems . We have not achieved close to the goal of a invulnerable missile shield . But let me tell you . The Chinese do not like the fact that we've deployed THAAD in South Korea. We could probably use that as leverage towards our aim .

[talaniman]

I didn't ridicule Reagan for his "star wars" ideas, or a few others (tax policy collaboration with his democratic Senate), but don't put it past China and Russia getting their proxies to test our systems.