The Commander of US Pacific Forces, Admiral Timothy Keating, was interviewed by Viola Gienger of Bloomberg News Service and indicated that "the military is ready to handle any orders it might receive in response to North Korea's threatened missile launches and potential illicit shipments." see http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090630/NEWS08/906300336/-1/RSS02?source=rss_localnews .
The fact that Admiral Keating allowed himself, and has been allowed by his superiors, to be interviewed on this subject means that a message is being sent to North Korea and it underscores the seriousness of the situation. I wonder if most Americans understand how serious it is. Admiral Keating's statements come on the heels of President Obama's statements a week ago broadcast in an interview on CBS saying "his administration and the U.S. military are "fully prepared for any contingencies" involving North Korea -- including the possible launch of a long-range missile toward Hawaii." see http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/dprk/2009/dprk-090622-voa01.htm
If an attack becomes necessary, should we stop with the missile and launch pad? Should we expand the attack to the nuclear plant(s) that produce weaponized plutonium and/or uranium? Should we liberate North Korea entirely? Do we even have the ability to mount such a campaign with significant percentages of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan? Would China react or could we get their buy in to any necessary action? Certainly, the Chinese would not ignore the situation if threatened similarly. Perhaps the Chinese have already been consulted. Such a consultation would not be publicly disclosed for obvious reasons.
What I keep coming back to whenever I think of this situation is that President Obama cannot allow this missile to be launched. ABM or Anti-Ballistic Missile technology has a significant failure rate and you can't take the chance with what might be a nuclear weapon. I hope the North Koreans abort the preparations to launch this missile. If they cannot be convinced to do that, we may be a few days away from a new Korean war.
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