N Korea Rattles Sabres

Don't bet on it. Remember the Soviet Union - very advanced militarily, while still using corn cobs to wipe their butts. It's nothing more than the proverbial guns or butter...when you invest all your resources into guns, a country can accomplish far more than a country that splits its resources evenly, and history clearly demonstrates that...

well duh . That's not a news flash. And it isnt out problem. That's why I said let them starve. They will either rise up and fix their own country, or they wont. Us giving them handouts every time they threaten to cause a problem is just enabling to continue. We need to stop bribing them for peace. Let the cards fall where they may. Let the Koreans and Chinese deal with it. It isnt our problem.

They look at us as suck ups.

Problems in the region do affect our country Joe. It is our problem if the North invades the South.
Did you forget all the US military personnel stationed in South Korea? About 50,- 100,000 if I can remember correctly.
Unrest in the region places their lives in danger Joe. Something as a veteran I am not comfortable with.
As an officer in the USAF I toured and inspected some of our military bases there while asigned to the pentagon.
The US economy is tied to that of both China and South Korea include japans and the US economy could crumble if prolonged military action disrupted trade. Shalom

Well then go volunteer for the south korean airforce, America needs to worry about America and quit trying to be the worlds police. It doesnt work all we end up doing is makeing more people hate us and breaking our treasury. Bring those 50-100 k troops home, patrol our own borders.

Joe I served my time in the service of 2 different countries yet to ensure the freedom of our ally South Korea I would volunteer my services again
With our protection the South Koreans does not require my presence.
My father served in WW2, Korea, and Vietnam to ensure that freedom rang true for all those who love it, and reside in this world. Not just the US,
Those who preach isolation should well remember the events that led to WW1 and the devastation that could have been avoided or decreased if US policy was different. Same for WW2. Shalom

While I am completely against policing action - especially since there is no constitutional basis for it, as well as the expense - S. Korea is a catch 22 at this point. If we were to leave, there is little doubt the N would attempt to invade and China would probably secretly celebrate. I can think of a lot of places we have no business - but I would hesitate big time to pull out of S Korea.

US troops in Korea number a little under 30,000...

I stand corrected but the last time I was privy to such information was in the 80's and then the numbers were far greater.
I was not fully aware of how much the reduction in troops had affected the number deployed on the korean pennisula.
Still 30,000 is a lot of american servicmen and women at risk if a conflict arose.
I knew that Faceman would know the correct numbers. Next time maybe I should PM Faceman for the facts before posting.
Maybe not he might use his superpowers to convert me to a conservative again. We liberals have weak minds they say and might be influenced rather easily.
Stop nodding your head in agreement Faceman. Shalom

The numbers have been fairly consistent for a few years. A few years ago, I forget how long, we did some base consolidations there, but the number of troops remained the same. Many of the South Koreans aren't real supportive of us being there and we reduced the number of our bases mostly just for show so our military wouldn't be "omnipresent".

As far as weak minds, liberal minds are not weak - just different. A recent mtDNA study performed by the Limb Bah Institute demonstrated rather clearly that the ancestors of liberals descended from family clans that had a greater incidence of interbreeding with Neanderthals than conservatives. Conservatives have always had better taste in women, you know. Cro Magnon women were pretty hot, but those Neanderthal women had poor hygiene and bad teeth...