"26-year-old dictator-in-waiting has burnished his leadership credentials with a deadly artillery attack on South Korean territory, causing its neighbour to return fire and scramble F-16 fighters. Two South Korean marines died, and at least 12 were wounded. There were reports of civilian injuries and houses were set ablaze as scores of shells fell on Yeonpyeong island. A North Korea expert at Beijing's Central Party School, Zhang Liangui, told the Herald that Kim Jong-un was deliberately destabilising the environment in order to mobilise the military and consolidate his power."
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
"Rekindle, reignite...it's all the same thing. My prediction on this one was that when the tide lowers, it's easy to pick a fight with an old foe. It usually takes a small spark."
Random Roving, March 8, 2009
Showing posts with label N. Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label N. Korea. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Korean Games In The DMZ
Rekindle, reignite...it's all the same thing. My prediction on this one was that when the tide lowers, it's easy to pick a fight with an old foe. It usually takes a small spark."
Random Roving, March 8, 2009
"Tensions escalated along the North Korea-South Korea border on Friday after the North fired two rounds at its southern neighbour. South Korean troops immediately fired back, an official told The Associated Press. The shots from North Korea were fired towards a South Korean guard post in the Demilitarized Zone between the two countries, an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul told AP. No one was injured and it wasn't clear whether the shots represented a military action or were an accident. However the shots came just hours after the North vowed to retaliate after the South rejected a Pyongyang proposal for military talks. It's the latest escalation in an ongoing game of military brinksmanship that hit a high point when North Korea sunk the South Korean warship Cheonan in March, killing 46 sailors. Earlier this week Pyongyang demanded that Seoul resume large-scale food aid shipments despite the current tensions. The demand came after the North seized a South Korean fishing vessel earlier in the month. And in August, tensions were once again high after the North fired 110 rounds near the disputed border. All the shells landed harmlessly in the water within the North's territory. Earlier that month, South Korea held five days of naval drills off the west coast of the divided peninsula, that the south called a rehearsal for invasion."
Source: CTV Calgary
Random Roving, March 8, 2009
"Tensions escalated along the North Korea-South Korea border on Friday after the North fired two rounds at its southern neighbour. South Korean troops immediately fired back, an official told The Associated Press. The shots from North Korea were fired towards a South Korean guard post in the Demilitarized Zone between the two countries, an official at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul told AP. No one was injured and it wasn't clear whether the shots represented a military action or were an accident. However the shots came just hours after the North vowed to retaliate after the South rejected a Pyongyang proposal for military talks. It's the latest escalation in an ongoing game of military brinksmanship that hit a high point when North Korea sunk the South Korean warship Cheonan in March, killing 46 sailors. Earlier this week Pyongyang demanded that Seoul resume large-scale food aid shipments despite the current tensions. The demand came after the North seized a South Korean fishing vessel earlier in the month. And in August, tensions were once again high after the North fired 110 rounds near the disputed border. All the shells landed harmlessly in the water within the North's territory. Earlier that month, South Korea held five days of naval drills off the west coast of the divided peninsula, that the south called a rehearsal for invasion."
Source: CTV Calgary
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Korean Conflict
So where does this Korean conflict lead?
"Pyongyang rejected the claim as a "fabrication" and threatened war if sanctions were imposed. The international report found a North Korean submarine's torpedo sank the South Korean navy ship, causing the deaths of 46 sailors. China urged restraint and did not criticise the North. The US administration described the sinking as an "act of aggression" that challenged peace."
Source: BBC News
"Rekindle, reignite...it's all the same thing. My prediction on this one was that when the tide lowers, it's easy to pick a fight with an old foe. It usually takes a small spark."
Random Roving, March 8, 2009
"Pyongyang rejected the claim as a "fabrication" and threatened war if sanctions were imposed. The international report found a North Korean submarine's torpedo sank the South Korean navy ship, causing the deaths of 46 sailors. China urged restraint and did not criticise the North. The US administration described the sinking as an "act of aggression" that challenged peace."
Source: BBC News
"Rekindle, reignite...it's all the same thing. My prediction on this one was that when the tide lowers, it's easy to pick a fight with an old foe. It usually takes a small spark."
Random Roving, March 8, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Heartland Theory & The Middle East
I'm continually dumbfounded by the fact that people still believe that we invaded Iraq for these reasons:
-Sadaam Hussein was an evil person (he was "our boy" for many years; if we're humanitarians, we missed a few nice opportunities in Africa over the past two decades)
-Iraq was involved in 9/11 (most of the young men were from our favorite Middle Eastern country, Saudi Arabia; why didn't we invade them?)
-Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (so does N. Korea and Pakistan. Why didn't we invade them?)
The real reason is OIL. Yes, oil. Surprise surprise. On our annual beach trip in June 2004, we were having a lively discussion on the Middle East. The next day, the USA Today had the following article presenting the "bigger picture". Once again, history provides us with the answer. After reading the article, integrate the recent announcements by the Obama administration regarding Afghanistan. Remember, his campaign pledge was to exit.
In OMG and Holy Sh*t Obamaman I referred to the Pentagon meetings that President Obama was going to have and had. I envision at these meetings that the strategy described in the article below was outlined with the Middle East as the focus. I'm perplexed why the American people find it farfetched that our strategy all along was to invade Afghanistan and Iraq only to "set up shop" in the most important oil region in the world. If we are there, Russia and China have to "come through us". Remember, the French and the Germans had oil contracts with Iraq. That is why they opposed the invasion. Upon our imperialistic takeover, we immediately declared those contracts null and void. That might be the arrogance President Obama has referred to and apologized for in the past weeks.
'Heartland' strategy in Iraq: Right idea, if done the right way
By William Hamilton
Some critics like to say American foreign policy is discernible only in retrospect. Even so, such opinion could be taken as a left-handed compliment for a nation that has done rather well in defending itself and its allies in the previous century, and now, at the beginning of the 21st century. Though it might be too early to put a name to the Grand Strategy we are employing with regard to Iraq, just "being there" suggests that our strategy aligns quite nicely with the Heartland Theory put forth in 1904 by Sir Halford John Mackinder, one of the great military strategists of the 20th century. Here's how the Heartland Theory would apply to Iraq: Get a globe and put your finger on Iraq. Notice how your finger is resting right in the middle, the "heartland," of the Middle East, halfway between Egypt and Pakistan.
In 1904, British geographer Mackinder placed his finger on Eastern Europe and declared that to be the "pivot area" or "heartland" of Europe. He declared: "Who commands Eastern Europe commands the heartland; who rules the heartland commands the world island; and who rules the world-island commands the world." (By world-island, he meant the Euro-Asian-African landmass.)
Did anyone buy the Heartland Theory?
Yes. Napoleon understood it even before Mackinder was born. That is why he attacked czarist Russia. Moreover, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and three generations of the world's foremost military strategists embraced it as gospel and acted upon it. Even now, the United States is steering NATO's drive into Mackinder's Heartland with the addition to its ranks of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Just being there is enough.
The essential element in the Heartland Theory is simply "being there." Properly applied, being there means Iraqi oil revenue cannot go to al-Qaeda. Being there means the Iraqis can choose whatever government they want, as long as it does not support terrorism. Being there means interdicting the radical Islamists' lines of communication that run across the Middle East from Cairo to Islamabad, Pakistan.
But being there need not include the imposition of a Pax Americana on Iraq's cities.
The inevitable collateral damage of urban warfare creates a no-win situation for U.S. troops in a news-media world dominated by the hostile Al-Jazeera TV network and by a Western media that daily prove the dictum: Bad news will travel around the world before good news can tie its shoelaces. George Friedman, who runs a private intelligence service, suggests that the U.S.-led coalition can still be there while, at the same time, withdrawing its troops from Iraqi cities. By occupying a series of desert outposts, we retain the strategic advantage of being in the heartland of the Middle East. If al-Qaeda or the Iraqi insurgents want to fight our troops, they must expose themselves in the open desert, where their rusting, bomb-laden pickups are no match for our Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Our casualties would plummet. Theirs would skyrocket.
Bush administration's opportunity
But even as it becomes increasingly clear that our troops are being withdrawn from Iraq's troubled cities — especially now that governing power has been transferred to the Iraqis — the debate as to the wisdom of being there in the first place rages.
One way for the administration to answer its critics would be to explain the invasion of Iraq and our continued presence there in terms of the Heartland Theory. While that explanation might make a great deal of sense to armchair strategists and war-college graduates, it could be a difficult sell to a pop culture that cast more votes during the latest American Idol season than it cast in the most recent presidential election.
Meanwhile, the inescapable geographic truth is that we are occupying the heartland of the Middle East. If Mackinder's theory is correct, our mere presence there will have a major impact on how we fight, and whether we succeed, in the ongoing war on terrorism. But maintaining public support for our continued presence will require military tactics that reduce our casualties to more acceptable and sustainable levels.
If that can be achieved, the armchair strategists and the soccer moms may create the common ground of broad public support that will be essential to our successful occupation of a strategic base in the region's heartland.
William Hamilton is a syndicated columnist, retired Army officer and co-author of The Grand Conspiracy and The Panama Conspiracy —two novels about terrorists targeting the United States. He lives in Colorado.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-06-29-opcom_x.htm
-Sadaam Hussein was an evil person (he was "our boy" for many years; if we're humanitarians, we missed a few nice opportunities in Africa over the past two decades)
-Iraq was involved in 9/11 (most of the young men were from our favorite Middle Eastern country, Saudi Arabia; why didn't we invade them?)
-Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (so does N. Korea and Pakistan. Why didn't we invade them?)
The real reason is OIL. Yes, oil. Surprise surprise. On our annual beach trip in June 2004, we were having a lively discussion on the Middle East. The next day, the USA Today had the following article presenting the "bigger picture". Once again, history provides us with the answer. After reading the article, integrate the recent announcements by the Obama administration regarding Afghanistan. Remember, his campaign pledge was to exit.
In OMG and Holy Sh*t Obamaman I referred to the Pentagon meetings that President Obama was going to have and had. I envision at these meetings that the strategy described in the article below was outlined with the Middle East as the focus. I'm perplexed why the American people find it farfetched that our strategy all along was to invade Afghanistan and Iraq only to "set up shop" in the most important oil region in the world. If we are there, Russia and China have to "come through us". Remember, the French and the Germans had oil contracts with Iraq. That is why they opposed the invasion. Upon our imperialistic takeover, we immediately declared those contracts null and void. That might be the arrogance President Obama has referred to and apologized for in the past weeks.
'Heartland' strategy in Iraq: Right idea, if done the right way
By William Hamilton
Some critics like to say American foreign policy is discernible only in retrospect. Even so, such opinion could be taken as a left-handed compliment for a nation that has done rather well in defending itself and its allies in the previous century, and now, at the beginning of the 21st century. Though it might be too early to put a name to the Grand Strategy we are employing with regard to Iraq, just "being there" suggests that our strategy aligns quite nicely with the Heartland Theory put forth in 1904 by Sir Halford John Mackinder, one of the great military strategists of the 20th century. Here's how the Heartland Theory would apply to Iraq: Get a globe and put your finger on Iraq. Notice how your finger is resting right in the middle, the "heartland," of the Middle East, halfway between Egypt and Pakistan.
In 1904, British geographer Mackinder placed his finger on Eastern Europe and declared that to be the "pivot area" or "heartland" of Europe. He declared: "Who commands Eastern Europe commands the heartland; who rules the heartland commands the world island; and who rules the world-island commands the world." (By world-island, he meant the Euro-Asian-African landmass.)
Did anyone buy the Heartland Theory?
Yes. Napoleon understood it even before Mackinder was born. That is why he attacked czarist Russia. Moreover, Kaiser Wilhelm II, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and three generations of the world's foremost military strategists embraced it as gospel and acted upon it. Even now, the United States is steering NATO's drive into Mackinder's Heartland with the addition to its ranks of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
Just being there is enough.
The essential element in the Heartland Theory is simply "being there." Properly applied, being there means Iraqi oil revenue cannot go to al-Qaeda. Being there means the Iraqis can choose whatever government they want, as long as it does not support terrorism. Being there means interdicting the radical Islamists' lines of communication that run across the Middle East from Cairo to Islamabad, Pakistan.
But being there need not include the imposition of a Pax Americana on Iraq's cities.
The inevitable collateral damage of urban warfare creates a no-win situation for U.S. troops in a news-media world dominated by the hostile Al-Jazeera TV network and by a Western media that daily prove the dictum: Bad news will travel around the world before good news can tie its shoelaces. George Friedman, who runs a private intelligence service, suggests that the U.S.-led coalition can still be there while, at the same time, withdrawing its troops from Iraqi cities. By occupying a series of desert outposts, we retain the strategic advantage of being in the heartland of the Middle East. If al-Qaeda or the Iraqi insurgents want to fight our troops, they must expose themselves in the open desert, where their rusting, bomb-laden pickups are no match for our Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Our casualties would plummet. Theirs would skyrocket.
Bush administration's opportunity
But even as it becomes increasingly clear that our troops are being withdrawn from Iraq's troubled cities — especially now that governing power has been transferred to the Iraqis — the debate as to the wisdom of being there in the first place rages.
One way for the administration to answer its critics would be to explain the invasion of Iraq and our continued presence there in terms of the Heartland Theory. While that explanation might make a great deal of sense to armchair strategists and war-college graduates, it could be a difficult sell to a pop culture that cast more votes during the latest American Idol season than it cast in the most recent presidential election.
Meanwhile, the inescapable geographic truth is that we are occupying the heartland of the Middle East. If Mackinder's theory is correct, our mere presence there will have a major impact on how we fight, and whether we succeed, in the ongoing war on terrorism. But maintaining public support for our continued presence will require military tactics that reduce our casualties to more acceptable and sustainable levels.
If that can be achieved, the armchair strategists and the soccer moms may create the common ground of broad public support that will be essential to our successful occupation of a strategic base in the region's heartland.
William Hamilton is a syndicated columnist, retired Army officer and co-author of The Grand Conspiracy and The Panama Conspiracy —two novels about terrorists targeting the United States. He lives in Colorado.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-06-29-opcom_x.htm
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