US carrier-led strike group heading toward Korea "As a Show of Force"

[MomentsofSanity]

So, he's either lying about the movement and giving false hope to allies in the region (ROK is worried about this) or he isn't fully aware of the location of a major surface group. I think it's likely BOTH. He's trying to bully NK and bluff his way through and he really doesn't know where they are or are going. He's been "slipping" a lot lately. Calling Paul Ryan "Ron" multiple times, saying missiles were headed to Iraq, etc..

Remember before the election, the stories about Trump just wanting to be a figurehead. Passing off the day to day duties of the President to Pence et al... I think this is a result of those rumors. He just isn't interested in the minutia of being the leader of the free world. Just the accolades.

 

[Pens1566]

Remember before the election, the stories about Trump just wanting to be a figurehead. Passing off the day to day duties of the President to Pence et al... I think this is a result of those rumors. He just isn't interested in the minutia of being the leader of the free world. Just the accolades.

Yep. I was reading some interesting info last night about examples of his mental "decline". Granted it was on the internet, so no guarantee of reliability, but the video examples comparing now to 10-15 years ago are dramatic. Changes in diminished vocab, repetitiveness, etc seem to match up. The guy is just not well.

 

[trenchfoot]

Meanwhile, the more time Trump is given to divert attention away from his Russian business buddies in the Kremlin, the more time he has to use his powers as POTUS to stuff that situation in some dark corner of some dark secret cellar where it will never see the light of day ever again.

This fucktwat of a POTUS is more than willing to use a gaggle of big $$$$$ tomahawk cruise missiles like a pack of cheap ass firecrackers to score political points and to divert attention away from his business dealings with Putin. To further sweep his problems under the Oval Room carpets he is now furiously banging away on his cute 'lil war drum by Mattel via picking a fight with his mirror image over in the DPRK, and he's doing it in such obvious fashion that it's rather embarrassing to see him humiliate himself this way.

He got no style, he got no prestige, he got no honor.....shit, he reminds me of a wanna be big-time real estate tycoon with $$$ to burn whose sole purpose in life is to impress others with his extraordinary ability to sell snake oil by the barrels full to a bunch of folks who adore the guy for doing it to them.

Shitheads of a feather flock together.

 

[Pens1566]

The Russian story isn't going away. No matter what he does to distract. See the CNN "exclusive" yesterday. It essentially confirms the Steele dossier and that the FBI bolstered it's investigation with it. Bolstered. Strange word if taken at face value in that context.

 

[Thump553]

What makes it impossible for you henny-penny morons to grow a brain. The US has a carrier strike force stationed in that area permanently. The US Seventh Fleet is based in Japan and spends 100% of its operational time cruising around China and NK as a show of force.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Seventh_Fleet

One carrier is undergoing a refit, another carrier is replacing it. Nothing has changed other than some people getting more stupid by the day.

Please, you of such vaulted intelligence and knowledge, explain to me how it is a positive thing that the President lies about sending a carrier group into a tinder box area. Whether they are there all the time is irrelevant IMO. The North Koreans knew what was already there-they could/should have easily concluded Trumpster was ramping up by bringing in a second group-when that was a flat out lie that served no purpose other than to raise risk.

Perhaps you should spend a bit more time thinking instead of childish name calling. For that matter the same advice applies to Herr Trump as well. A fool in charge of our military is not a good thing.

 

[JTsyo]

Sun Tzu? Overrated!

If you want true wisdom read Art of the Deal.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Looks like a lot of people were upset when it was thought a fleet was headed towards NK and now they're upset because it didn't happen. Everyone does know we and Australia are playing with our boats in the tub, right?

 

[JSt0rm]

Looks like a lot of people were upset when it was thought a fleet was headed towards NK and now they're upset because it didn't happen. Everyone does know we and Australia are playing with our boats in the tub, right?

The world is sooo stupid for listening to trump tweets.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

The world is sooo stupid for listening to trump tweets.

Somebody sure is.

 

[WelshBloke]

Looks like a lot of people were upset when it was thought a fleet was headed towards NK and now they're upset because it didn't happen. Everyone does know we and Australia are playing with our boats in the tub, right?

I think that it's more that people were upset that he threatened a nuclear armed power with a carrier group over Twitter then turned out to be talking bullshit. It's an interesting approach to international diplomacy.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

I think that it's more that people were upset that he threatened a nuclear armed power with a carrier group over Twitter then turned out to be talking bullshit. It's an interesting approach to international diplomacy.

NK has is in the most primitive stages of development. No credible source believes they have the capability to deliver a nuke. Eventually yes, right now, no.

Bullshit is part of diplomacy. Kim had his party for his dad's birthday but then had missile erectile disfunction. It certainly keeps Kim from being overly secure but of course there's no way to let us know while keeping Kim in the dark. We're not special.

 

[WelshBloke]

NK has is in the most primitive stages of development. No credible source believes they have the capability to deliver a nuke. Eventually yes, right now, no.

Either way threatening a state like NK (who could best be described as at least a little bit tetchy) over Twitter is not the way to carry out relations.

Bullshit is part of diplomacy. Kim had his party for his dad's birthday but then had missile erectile disfunction. It certainly keeps Kim from being overly secure but of course there's no way to let us know while keeping Kim in the dark. We're not special.

It allows Fatboy to boast to his people that the USA were scared of the illustrious forces of Best Korea and rerouted their carrier group away from the area after Dear Leader told them to.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Either way threatening a state like NK (who could best be described as at least a little bit tetchy) over Twitter is not the way to carry out relations.



It allows Fatboy to boast to his people that the USA were scared of the illustrious forces of Best Korea and rerouted their carrier group away from the area after Dear Leader told them to.

Let him boast to the people who think he discovered unicorns himself. Nothing is going to change domestically. I agree that Trump's use of Twitter is idiocy, but how would one go about rattling Kim's chain by uncertainty? If the press were notified about a trip which wasn't happening then "Trump deceived us!" would be heard and some in the press jumped on that already. Again normal approaches do nothing with Kim and not telegraphing actions or in this case letting him know that he's not going to figure out our tactics seems reasonable so how would you do it better?

 

[WelshBloke]

Let him boast to the people who think he discovered unicorns himself. Nothing is going to change domestically.

Building him up in his people's eyes probably isn't going to help there certainly.

I agree that Trump's use of Twitter is idiocy, but how would one go about rattling Kim's chain by uncertainty? If the press were notified about a trip which wasn't happening then "Trump deceived us!" would be heard and some in the press jumped on that already. Again normal approaches do nothing with Kim and not telegraphing actions or in this case letting him know that he's not going to figure out our tactics seems reasonable so how would you do it better?

Our tactics appear to be talking bollocks on twitter, I'm not sure if him figuring that out is a help or hindrance.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Building him up in his people's eyes probably isn't going to help there certainly.



Our tactics appear to be talking bollocks on twitter, I'm not sure if him figuring that out is a help or hindrance.

For the first, Kim is a god and loved like one. The second? Again Twitter sucks and so does Trump. So we still have Kim and NK started it's nuke program before he came along. The US has no carrot which he will accept, he'll just make periodic demands for aid then do what he wants anyway, but more quietly. He's so isolated that it's entirely likely he believes his propaganda. He is good and everyone who poses a problem needs to be taken care of. OK, as you say what's the plan?

 

[WelshBloke]

OK, as you say what's the plan?

There doesn't seem to be one. It would be great if Trump didn't make that quite so obvious though.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

There doesn't seem to be one. It would be great if Trump didn't make that quite so obvious though.

If Trump has done anything positive it would be his letting those who have expertise in the military have wider latitude. Normally I'd not be in favor but at this point people like Mattis have a higher standard of ethics and morality than Kushner and the like.

As far as NK goes, the best option I see has been mentioned on news. Sabotage everything continually. Make weapons systems useless, disrupt command and communications. Cyberwarfare lying in wait until needed. Beats real bombs IMO. Naturally if we have any real diplomats, we draw on the expertise of others in the EU who aren't happy about Kim either and work with China to contain Kim. They don't have as much influence as many think, but they do have some economic pressure they can apply as appropriate. China doesn't want a war either. What we need is very difficult indeed, and that is to develop human intel in NK over time and get back in the "game". We made a mistake decades ago thinking technology could replace human assets and we woefully miscalculated. A guy with a properlywritten one-time pad will defeat every piece of technology that can exist short of mind reading.

 

[zinfamous]

Looks like a lot of people were upset when it was thought a fleet was headed towards NK and now they're upset because it didn't happen. Everyone does know we and Australia are playing with our boats in the tub, right?

um no. It's about what he said: essentially threatening nuclear war, then apparently being exposed as a doofus for bluffing like a kid in the sandbox. didn't even know where the ships were, or simply didn't care. Both of these situations are bad. You understand that, right?

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

um no. It's about what he said: essentially threatening nuclear war, then apparently being exposed as a doofus for bluffing like a kid in the sandbox. didn't even know where the ships were, or simply didn't care. Both of these situations are bad. You understand that, right?

I disagree with the threat of nuclear war because there is absolutely no need to go down that road any more than a nuke was used when a MOAB sufficed. That in no way means I'm in favor of military war, quite the opposite, but there must be a balance of emotion and intellect. Given that war is horrific it's important to understand how thing work, and this is where I agree with you. Trump projects the opposite of confidence. There is an article jumping on Spicer and it's absolutely just. He looks like more of an idiot every time he tries to explain things, but then he has to speak for the Mad Hatter as it were. Nevertheless the Press seems to be upset because they weren't in on the plans (assuming there was one) Similarly they would have wanted to know about Manhattan and D-day, and if they did know back then they would probably have acted responsibility, but the Fourth Estate has not been exemplary in itself.

That leaves us to speculate and debate and argue with some frankly bizarre contentions. We can't do anything, but as I've said elsewhere "going Birther" with unfounded speculation because something "must be", isn't good for anyone. You'll find examples of that every day.

 

[Jhhnn]

Bullshit is part of diplomacy.

And the absolutely indispensable ingredient in the Trump presidency, like flour in bread. There's really little else in it.

 

[Jhhnn]

Pence claims misinformation about Carrier location not intentional-

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/mike-pence-aircraft-carrier-north-korea-237356

Maybe they didn't really know where it was....

 

[3DVagabond]

My point was that he's a blustering fool who could bumble us into something terrible, not just specific to the Korean situation.

As to killing millions of South Koreans thats been a real possibility for decades should any conflict erupt there. Conventional or not.

None of that excuses prior administrations allowing it to get to this point. For or against Trump and what he's doing, this mess was handed to him. We'll see how it plays out. I don't see us doing anything preemptive though unless our allies in the region are safe or also think it's necessary.

I disagree on the conventional or not part. Some shock and awe on their front lines could discourage the guys up front pretty quickly.

 

[Jhhnn]

None of that excuses prior administrations allowing it to get to this point. For or against Trump and what he's doing, this mess was handed to him. We'll see how it plays out. I don't see us doing anything preemptive though unless our allies in the region are safe or also think it's necessary.

I disagree on the conventional or not part. Some shock and awe on their front lines could discourage the guys up front pretty quickly.

Repubs rev up the rhetoric over the DPRK when it suits their domestic political purposes. The Bush admin did the same thing, pushing the DPRK into further development.

They're a dandy little boogieman.

 

[alien42]

None of that excuses prior administrations allowing it to get to this point. For or against Trump and what he's doing, this mess was handed to him. We'll see how it plays out. I don't see us doing anything preemptive though unless our allies in the region are safe or also think it's necessary.

I disagree on the conventional or not part. Some shock and awe on their front lines could discourage the guys up front pretty quickly.

every President for many decades had this same mess handed to them.

don't be so sure that Obama didn't have success against NK...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/04/world/asia/north-korea-missile-program-sabotage.html

 

[3DVagabond]

every President for many decades had this same mess handed to them.

don't be so sure that Obama didn't have success against NK...

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/04/world/asia/north-korea-missile-program-sabotage.html

Understand that I'm not placing blame on any particular prior administration.

There seems to be a lot of supposition in that article with very little information. If we are able to sabotage at launch No. Korean missiles that's great. It won't deter them though. And doesn't stop them from continuing to work on other aspects of the program. It just stops them from testing their latest missile tech.