Let's move onto the next conflict

[PornoDoggy]

Well, since you apparently don't think I would shed a tear or spare a thought for the demise of the North Korean government then you are obvioulsy not dumb at all. Since you don't think I'm opposed to the use of military force just because it's mean, nasty, and unpleasant you are probably a rich capitalist pig that doesn't need to ask friends to take up a collection to buy yourself a clue.

And I did misunderstand you insofar as the "first strike" goes. I hear a lot of that tossed about from armchair warriors without a clue about what they are talking about.

The bombers on Guam loaded with nukes are additional nukes aimed at North Korea. We decided on a nuclear option for that country years and years ago. I've known a lot of people who've served there, and some folks (at least used to) refer to themselves as being part of BaitCorps. It's been an Achilles Heel for a long time.

The Bush Administration has gone out of its way to be hostile to the North Koreans from the moment they took office. Lumping them into the "axis of evil" (particlularly since Syria would have been a more logical candidate) was an extremely short-sighted idea, IMHO, unless Kim has secretly hidden the large number of fundamentist Islamic Koreans from the world for a long time. I'm not defending the North Korean deceptions, or saying that shouldn't be dealt with - but we just don't have a whole lot of viable options.

The Chinese approach to the N. Koreans is extremely quiet. They have realized, after 50 years of "friendship," that publicly chastizing them NEVER works. And they are a problem in and of themselves. They can't feel a whole lot more secure about a nuclear North Korea than we are; at the same time, they don't want to increase our influence in the region in any way, shape or form. And the folks that do advocate some form of military action against NK run the same risk that McArthur did - and I personally don't think they would react much differently this time.

You asked me what I'd do - I'd talk to them without preconditions, one on one if that's what they want. I'd do at least that much to get them willing to participate in a genuine regional solution. I wouldn't capitulate - they would have to jump through a lot more hoops than last time to get what they want, and I'm not sure that it would be any more successful than it was last time.

But the simple fact of the matter is, there has been no diplomacy conducted between the U.S. and North Korea since January, 2001. That has to change. And making the first gesture would be the sort of big, bold move that could REALLY fuck up his critics, both domestic and foreign, in the same way that Roosevelt's gesture toward the Soviets or Nixon's gesture toward China was.

And then we can build the military that we need for a possible confrontation with China. And no matter how many times Rummy sees "Star Wars" and "The Green Berets," that's gonna have a lot more heavy divisions than the sexy spec-ops folks he seems to favor.