OK, some of you seem to be missing a few points here:
1. The US could start a war with North Korea and win, but the cost may well be more than anyone is willing to pay unless we have no other choice. The fight could go nuclear as North Korea most likely has (or soon will have) nuclear weapons, which Iran and Syria do not have. Not yet anyway. Even a conventional fight would cause many casualties in South and North Korea and could spread to Japan and China. That's why the US government is working with South Korea, Japan, China and others to defuze this before it blows up and we have to fight it out. No one outside of North Korea's"Government" wants to start WW III, Locke.
2. The Iranian and Syrian Armed Forces are much smaller and nowhere near as dug in as North Korea (trust me on this, I have reason to know), but no military conflict is a sure thing and no sane person starts a fight if they have viable alternatives. Another relevant quote by Karl von Clausewitz "...War is the province of chance. In no other sphere of human activity must such a margin be left for this intruder. It increases the uncertainty of every circumstance and deranges the course of events....". So while I understand 7.62's bravdo, nothing is certain and North Korea is far from an easy target. As to Vietnam and politics, 7.62, I refer you back to my first quote from Clausewitz and Charge 7's discussion (I was trying to get them to
Read it dude, but thanks for the support
)
3. Locke, North Korea has considerable natural resources (anthracite, iron ore, magnesite, lead, zinc, tungsten, mercury, copper, phosphate, gold, silver, sulfur and manganese), but
NO OIL! A quote from a US Department of Energy Study: "... North Korea lacks domestic petroleum reserves, but the West Korea Bay may contain hydrocarbon reserves, as it is considered to be a geological extension of China's Bohai Bay. Offshore exploration concessions previously held by Sweden's Taurus Petroleum, Britain's Soco, and Australia's Beach Petroleum have been allowed to lapse, having failed to find oil in commercial quantities...." (
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/nkorea.html). Note that
none of these companies are US controlled, so let's just dump the War for Oil nonsense right now Xm 8
.
And if the US did go to war with Iraq for oil, why is the price so high and why is the money generated by selling Iraqi oil going to the IRAQI Government
You've been listening to Air America too much Xm 8, as you have bought the liberal anti-war, anti-Bush baloney
