"CrediBILLity"...
Posted on 04/25/2010 4:54:06 AM PDT by IbJensen
Reuters cited an April 22 Yonhap News Agency report that the South Korean military believes a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine sank its navy corvette, the ROKS Cheonan, on March 26. The findings were based on intelligence gathered jointly with the United States.
The ship had a crew of 104 men at the time of sinking, with 58 crew members being rescued and another 46 members unaccounted for.
"North Korean submarines are all armed with heavy torpedoes with 200 kg (441 lb) warheads," the military source was quoted by Yonhap. "It is the military intelligence's assessment that the North attacked with a heavy torpedo.
"The military intelligence has made the report to the [presidential] Blue House and to the Defense Ministry immediately after the sinking of the Cheonan that it is clearly the work of North Korea's military," the source was quoted as saying.
In a follow-up report on April 23, Reuters quoted South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s statement to a group of foreign journalists: "Just as the investigation is being conducted with international cooperation, we'll try to cooperate with the international community in taking necessary measures when the results are out.”
An article published in the Korea Times for April 15 noted:
Experts said [on April 15] a powerful external explosion is the likely cause of the sinking of the naval ship Cheonan in the West Sea as the broken section of its stern part appears to have been ripped apart and the severed edges appear badly damaged.
They said the explosion seems to have occurred underwater, below the 1,200-ton warship, as the upper metal structure of the warship was bent upward by a ``bubble jet`` effect.
They said the possibility of a metal fatigue fracture or an implosion is slim, claiming that the ship appears to have been torn into two parts as a result of a torpedo or a sea mine exploding underwater.
Analysts agreed that an internal blast is an unlikely cause, given that most of the weapons on the frigate, including 76mm and 40mm guns under which ammunition is stored, remain intact.
Reuters commented that the Yonhap news report appears to indicate clearly that Seoul blames Pyongyang for the sinking. While the report puts political pressure to make some sort of response on South Korean President Lee, analysts do not see it sufficient to trigger a war between the two Koreas, because a war would be harmful to the South Korean economy, while at the same time improving North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's standing at home.
Speaking to reporters at a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Estonia, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged North Korea not to take “provocative actions”: “We have said time and time again that the North Koreans should not engage in provocative actions, and that they should return to six-party talks.”
The six-party talks are a series of ongoing negotiations seeking to reach a peaceful resolution to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. The six participating states include: the People’s Republics of China, the Republic of [South] Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of [North] Korea, the United States, the Russian Federation, and Japan.
"I hope that there is no talk of war, there is no action or miscalculation that could provoke a response that might lead to conflict. That's not in anyone's interests," Clinton said.
These latest tensions are but another reminder of the folly usually referred to as the Korean War, and the UN-orchestrated failure of the anti-communist forces, to which North Korea owes its existence.
The Korean War was fought under the auspices of the United Nations, which maintained control of U.S.-led military operations against the Chinese-backed communist North. During the war, all military orders and directives sent from Washington and the Pentagon to the American commanders in Korea were first supplied to several offices at UN headquarters. This control prevented General Douglas MacArthur from securing victory against the communists.
The Korean peninsula has been one of the world’s “hot spots” ever since.
Shut up Billy Goat!
It is in the interests of peace that the pitiful small nation should be nuked. Threat from a place like this could have been eliminated sixty years ago and Billy's wife thingy advises against Korea taking 'provocative' action.
MI Ping
” Shut up Billy Goat! “
Remember that this is from the person whose ‘solution’ to the NK problem, during his period of mismanagement, was to send Maddie Albright to dance with L’il Kimmie....
Can you say ‘credibility’???
If we’re not going to bomb North Korea for this, then at the very least we should cut off all aid, especially food and medical aid (to say nothing of the nuclear technology Bill Clinton gave to them).
Thanks to Clinton and perhaps Bush
who gave them boatloads of money and food
to make sure their military grew stronger and stronger.
Now whatcha gonna do Hitlery and Zero -— more of the same ???
“all military orders and directives sent from Washington and the Pentagon to the American commanders in Korea were first supplied to several offices at UN headquarters”
To this day, I think, a Russian general, with the exception of 1949 when a Yugoslav general held the post due to a Russian generals’ death, has received all reports of UN police or military actions, as I vaguely recall that the US bankers negotiated with the Russians as the UN was being formed, to hold all banking, finance positions in the UN, and the Russians could monitor, control all police action and military actions, and so the arrangement was made.
At one time I had seen a list of the Russian officials up thru the eighties.
Can onyone confirm with updated information?
Methinks the comments came from HILLARY! Clinton.
‘toon’s foreign policy... both ‘toon turds... have always been, “Thank you... may I have another”.
LLS
I read recently that the Soviet member on the UNSC was feeding UN strategy for USUN operations in Korea to the Norks. Great idea, the UN.
Look DontTreadOnMe2009,
Soviet Union went bankrupt.
Chi-coms have 2/3 of their folks living like rats.
We have NO real threat. How we gonna keep feeding our military industrial complex without a boogie man?
Iran and N. Korea fill that need.
We could take out either in a few short hours BUT then we’d need to build up another boogie man.
“all military orders and directives sent from Washington and the Pentagon to the American commanders in Korea were first supplied to several offices at UN headquarters”
Once I was stationed in RVN it didn’t take long before I was asking why we never attacked Hai Phong, their big harbor on Gulf of Tonkin or any other harbors on the North Viet Nam coastline. The answers that I got didn’t make sense so I had my dad ask Senator Simpson. He was told about the UN arrangement and our agreement not to attack anything within 20 miles of the coast. At 19 I understood that wars were about making money and keeping the US economy strong.
Mike
"CrediBILLity"...
I know there are plenty of blurry areas on what exactly an act of war is. I’m pretty sure a submarine sneak attack resulting in the sinking of a naval warship and loss of almost half the crew isn’t one of them. What next? A few shells kill some school kids in Seoul?
...analysts do not see it sufficient to trigger a war between the two Koreas...
Man, those analysts are pretty stupid...
Sure, it won’t trigger a war, what it should do is negate the “cease fire” that has been in place since the cessation of hostilities...
Big difference there “analysts”...
Too bad it took this long to figure this incident out...Now NK knows it can sink ships without ANY repercussions...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.