Is this for real?

[Um_Yeah]

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,6754898%255E1702,00.html

It is from an "unofficial" North Korean spokesperson.

[FloridaPat]

1. I think this explains it:

"unofficial North Korean spokesman" - this could be any idiot in the street. That is even worse than office spokesman. Toss it in the gargabe.

[Doctor_J]

2. Sounds pretty far-fetched

If NK had 100's of nukes, we would know about it. If they'd developed them while Big Dog was in office, hate radio would have been talking about it for 8 years.

[Rick Myers]

3. An important point to remember about NUKES

Development of a nuclear device is one thing, DELIVERING IT is something else. The first US bombs weighed TONS and one could just barely fit in a B-29. It was more than 15 years before warhead could be 'shrunk' to fit on a missile.

They may have a BOMB, but they would more than likely require a semi to deliver it. The missiles NK has are barely bigger than sounding rockets, and some amateurs in the US fly BIGGER rockets than the NK government.

Their bombs would have to have the diameter of a softball to fit in their current missile systems.

Just a thought...

[are_we_united_yet]

12. I agree

We'd know

[are_we_united_yet]

16. In addition

Better believe the minute the try to get off a missile (which they probably do not have the range or accuracy) their Country is toast.

[dweller]

18. well, that will be comfort to the west coast of the US

potentially reduced to less than jelly.

that macho stance is what got humans where we are now.

it's not rock/paper/scissors, toast/jelly/etc. afterall.

dp

[are_we_united_yet]

20. operative words here are

range and accuracy.

[dweller]

22. and you get your facts on 'range&accuracy'

from who?

seems the latest 'intelligence' experts are all concerned with the ME, and we can all see how well that's operating.

dp

[are_we_united_yet]

23. Are these the same experts that

know wher WMD are?

[are_we_united_yet]

25. Sorry

I misread your post. I don't rely on Bush Co for my facts if that is what yuou mean

[are_we_united_yet]

21. And by the way...

I didn't invent Nuclear Weapons, I definitely don't endorse them and probably couldn't have stopped other Countries from developing them either. You may think showering NK with roses and hugs and food might make them rethink their position and you might be correct. But the thought of being a mushroom cloud is one of the reasons strategic nuclear weapons exist. This is our reality.

[dweller]

27. ' being a mushroom cloud'

yep, there's the *moron's talking points, worked once, keep flinging it out there, it's a keeper all right.

you don't endorse them, but justify them. wha's the diff?

that, sadly, is YOUR reality. Must be tuff with that amount of dissonance abound in the brain.

dp

[are_we_united_yet]

28. YOURS TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nuclear weapons are here! They are real!!!! Our Country has them and they are willing to use them regardless of what you and I have to say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dweller]

32. Last time i checked, 'Our Country' was my country too

and i should have a say about whether they are used or not.
again, your macho stance is what got us here.
and the last time i checked, the Asian populations have a say also on how they face the rest of the world's populations.
it's not just a 'white only' world anymore.

i guess i can't blame them for following your suit, since that is the only current popular option.

dp

[are_we_united_yet]

34. I'm not white

And I'm finished talking with you. Have a nice life.

[dweller]

35. ha, zaijian wo'de peng yo!

wishing you a rainbow too.
peace,
dp

[dweller]

4. HELL! oh...

discount nothing. File it away and date stamp it. Who knows when this lying administration will be passing 'intelligence' about the reason for pre-emptive strikes against NK based on .....?

who can you trust?
dp

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[xcentrik]

6. Troll?

Is troll, yes? Nasty Repub "Gook" talk, fool nobody, yes?

[dweller]

7. and you are questioning?

which view?

dp

[Um_Yeah]

8. thats not me thats from a site I peruse.

The runner of the sight uses ethnic slurs whenever possible.

[dweller]

9. uh, yeah

and you are providing that pov to explain your dilemma, or to bolster your case?

dp

[Um_Yeah]

11. I thinks its just funny how fast

repukes are to use ethnic slurs and nukes.

[dweller]

15. yes, definately a 'sure sign'

however they are presented.

dp

[xcentrik]

10. Well, since you asked...

I haven't the slightest doubt that the United States, if threatened by North Korea, would turn North Korea into a large expanse of glowing glass in a heartbeat. I don't think, however, that racism is cute or edgy.

[dweller]

13. sorry x, was not in response to you

and am in complete agreement with your assesment of the post above, #5.

dp

[are_we_united_yet]

14. Thats it!

Thats where Iraq's signifcant amounts of Uranium went to!!!!

[Randi_Listener]

17. Make your time

Someone set us up the bomb

[sable302]

19. That the NK gvt

has their people so far in the dark that they would say stuff like that is just sad.

[Merlin]

24. These people are desparate. But we are the fools.

First of all, as I understand it, they do indeed possess the capacity to deliver a warhead to the US west coast. They have missiles capable of carrying a sufficient payload to cover the distance, though accuracy is another question.

Second, there's no question in my mind that they have nukes. But I would think they have only a few of them, or they would have tested one somewhere to prove it.

Third, they did NOT get hold of the uranium stolen from Iraq. That stuff went to either Iran or Syria. Probably Iran. Iran will have the bomb by the end of the year, imo.

So now the question is what the hell are they doing? Are they just nuts? No. They are crazy like a fox.

Kim is dealing the only hand he's got. This country's entire foreign trade complement in a year brings in less than half a billion dollars. It has no significant infrastructure. It has a million men under arms, and that means the government has to feed them. But the government has no money.

Meantime, we have cut them off from all sources of foreign loans. Their trade relationships are restricted to a handful of countries.

NK has a very cold climate. Food production is difficult. People are literally starving to death. It needs fuel for electricity and agricultural production and heat. It is desperate for food and oil.

Now if you put all this together, the wise person would say 'forget about the hubris and idiotic rants of these people, let's go in there like Clinton did (and Carter, when Clinton forgot his own strategy) and work out some kind of way for them to subsist in exchange for guaranteed monitoring of their nuclear projects.'

But the Shrubbie neocons won't do this because they think they have a commie country on the ropes and they don't want to do anything to breathe life back into them again. So the Shrubbies are essentially risking a nuclear attack on the US west coast, on SK, and on Japan so that they can enjoy the cheap thrill of seeing NK's commie government go down the tubes.

Unfortunately--as in Iraq--they forget the old rule that a cornered rat will strike violently rather than die impassively. Kim and his commies will not go gently into that good night. But the lunatics in charge of the US asylum dont grasp that truth. Yet.

[are_we_united_yet]

26. I was being sarcastic about Iraq

[Merlin]

29. Actually I was referring to another post.

The refreshingly sarcastic nature of your earlier post was not misread.
:-)

[are_we_united_yet]

30. Sorry about that and thanks

FYI

Here is one link that talks about NK range not able to reach US.

I'm not sure if its correct but you may be interested.
http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6759951%255E13569,00.html

[dweller]

36. your link doesn't load

have a better source?

dp

[are_we_united_yet]

37. Works for me

Check your cookies

here it is again

http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6759951%255E13569,00.html

anyone else having problems?

[dweller]

39. nope, not my cookies

it's a Foxnews site. again, do you have another source?
otherwise, thanks, anyway.

dp

[are_we_united_yet]

40. I tried to be balanced. try

http://www.ucsusa.org/news.cfm?newsID=329

http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/offdocs/nie9519.htm

http://www.nautilus.org/fora/security/0320A_%20Wright.html

[Merlin]

41. This is the part I remember.

"The possible range of the TD-2 is also controversial. The December 2001 NIE projected that a two-stage TD-2 "could deliver a several-hundred-kg payload up to 10,000 km--sufficient to strike Alaska, Hawaii, and parts of the continental United States." It further projected that including a third stage could increase the range to 15,000 km, which would allow it reach all of North America."

There sure as hell are a lot of "if"s in those reports.

Still, it seems likely that if he did want to strike us, he'd do it using a short range missile fired from a ship off the west coast.

I don't see the moron in Pyongyang striking first. Unless he's sure the moron in D. C. is going to strike him first.

[dweller]

31. Hammer, nail, exactly on point

and you have struck target the heart.

The neocons are living in a past, failed excuse of a triumph over the red scare.
and that got us into Afghanistan, now Iraq, and the whole ME quagmire.

And ignoring at our own peril the deeper Eastern Asian problems.

given the choice between desperation and foolishness, i'd survive with desperate measures.
i'm no fool.

dp

[berry]

33. You can find this guy at his website--

I'm not sure what his relation is to the N Korean govt., but I suspect he is on his own. I first came across him through BBC links (which the beeb does say they are not responsible for). Because there is so little info available about NK, anyone who offers to speak for or about them can get a hearing, I suspect.

http://www.kimsoft.com/

[dweller]

38. His top story from yesterday 7/16

07/16 Doubts Raised About Missile Defense (WP) -- An extensive study by a national group of scientists raised serious doubts yesterday about the likely effectiveness of some weapons that President Bush is pursuing in his drive to develop a system for defending the United States against ballistic missile attack.

links to:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61235-2003Jul15.html?nav=hptoc_n

"It concluded that while the boost-phase approach
might provide some defense against longer-burning
liquid-fueled missiles, such a system would push
the limits of what is technically possible. Even more
critically, the study found, boost-phase weapons
would likely prove entirely ineffective against
faster, solid-fueled missiles that potential
adversaries -- notably, North Korea and Iran --
are projected by U.S. intelligence analysts to
possess within the next 10 to 15 years."

well, that's not '45 minutes' is it....whew!

/sarcasm

dp

[berry]

42. I just got a reply from a friend in Korea (south) who keeps a closer watch

on all this than I do. He said the guy really is connected to the N Korean regime, and is based in Japan. The North Koreans who were marooned there after Japan's defeat in '45 were encouraged by N Korea not to repatriate, but to be a sort of window to the outside world. They sort of know what's going on N Korea, but not really. And they are also mouthpieces for the propaganda. Not every Korean in Japan with N Korean ties is political, but the ones who are seem not to have been able to educate the N Korea leadership about how the outside world works.

Anyway, my friend said that Kim Myong-chol is pretty official, even though he has no official status. Still, this begs the question of who in N Korea approves of his rants. Hmmm.