Posted on 04/04/2013 8:36:33 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
This isn't merely a failure of nerve, it's a failure of intelligence and a failure to keep operational secrets. The White House had a "playbook," agreed to by O, Hagel, and John Kerry, on how to rattle its saber at North Korea during the next crisis without rattling it so much that NK would get spooked and do something rash. E.g., first comes some B-52 flights over South Korea, then the B-2s make a cameo, then the F-22s, and so forth. Problem one: Kim's gone further in his bellicosity than U.S. analysts expected and now they’re unsure if they know where his personal red line is. Problem two: The deployment of two destroyers last weekend to the Pacific wasn’t part of the “playbook” and wasn’t supposed to be publicized. That was a bona fide strategic move, not a show of muscle-flexing designed for North Korean and international consumption. But then the news leaked and the Navy confirmed it, which turned the deployment into an inadvertent, potentially war-sparking audible.
One screw-up on top of another, so now it’s time to cool things off before someone gets nuked.
Officials said publicizing the destroyers risked ratcheting up tensions with the North more than the White House had intended. Likewise, they said, White House officials became upset because the disclosure wasn’t in keeping with the orchestrated rollout it had sought to control.
The White House has put the next steps in the playbook on hold while it assesses the North’s posture, officials say, though the administration hasn’t ruled out future shows of force. On Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said the U.S. wanted to lower the “temperature” on the peninsula…
[W]ithin the administration, some officials voiced concern about unintended consequences of provoking North Korea [by following an escalation "playbook"]. Some of these officials questioned the faith the White House and Pentagon placed in the intelligence agencies, which have a mixed record of predicting North Korean behavior.
However, few objections were raised at the highest levels during the meetings, according to participants—unlike in other Obama administration deliberations about using military force abroad, including Libya, Northwest Africa and Syria, that have been marked by protracted debates. President Barack Obama gave the green light to proceed with the playbook, these people said.
The unspoken risk: What’s the effect on Kim’s already unpredictable behavior now that he knows the U.S. is willing to tear up its “playbook” for fear of pushing him too far? Does that encourage him to be bolder? Or is this Journal story the White House’s way of making it easier for him to climb down? The WSJ’s sources are “U.S. officials” — important ones too, if they’re privy to what went on during meetings “at the highest levels.” Could be that Obama wanted this leaked as an olive branch to NK: The U.S. will eat shinola publicly for having been a little too aggressive towards Kim, whereupon Kim can declare moral victory and step back from the brink with South Korea. It’s a way to let him save face while retreating. “Look how the Americans tremble!” We’ll see if North Korea’s propaganda mill has any fun with it today. They sure have been having fun lately.
Exit question: How long before China instigates a coup to put someone in the North Korean military who’s more predictable in charge?
“Obam’s people are brain storming this right now to see how they can turn this into Fund Raising”
Or they are trying to find a way of spinning it as a ‘North Korean Spring’
Mel
He’s probably called France to see if their white surrender flag was for sale.
be da be da ... no duh
I don't know where you're getting this, but are you suggesting if things got ugly between us and NK that Communist China would not back and support NK?
it sings and dances around while not disagreeing.
Thank You for your words of wisdom... whisper softly. Will never be departed.
Anyone trusting Communist China for even one second, is a fool..
and thou the night be cloudy.
You ask what would zero do?
Well, he would have a crisis on his hands.
Never let a crisis go to waste.
Since he has no loyalties or connections to us our our country, there is no telling what he will do to this country given the right conditions.
Watch the other hand.
Amen Friend. He only thinks his hand is quicker than our eyes.
I watched the pretty terrible remake of Red Dawn yesterday. At first glance one would tend to laugh at the film having NKorea as the invading force that takes over much of America. After reading this and knowing the utter spineless pansies we have in the White House, I don’t find the movie so far-fetched anymore.
Probably to back up the Norks. If not, why put all that hardware there if there is a risk of losing it in a nuclear response from the US?
“open source intell that suggests that Lil’ Kim is losing control of the military and may in fact be in a power struggle with some generals”
I think thats highly likely.
Not sure if it was the original red dawn but back in the 1980s I was watching a promo on PBS of a movie where in a class room an older lady replaced the school teacher during class. The younger teacher left with a concerned look on her face.
The children asked the new teacher, “are we going to say our morning prayers as we always do before class?”
The new teacher explained to the class that prayers are useless and to prove it to them she told the kids to pray for a bike (or something like that) to appear in class. “Go on, pray for a bike” she told them.
After the praying the kids raised their heads from the desk and the teacher said “See? No bike. No God”.
Then as the class continued red parachutes, thousands of troops landing on the land outside the classroom window.
Was that Red Dawn? If not, do you know which movie that may have been?
There is no mystery to Obama’s actions. He is merely taking orders from Putin who told him to back off the rhetoric. Russia is the driving force here and I am pretty sure anything that Obama does in regards to foreign policy is directed by Russia and Putin.
This is what the reset button was all about. Obama is a commie. I could list all the reasons I believe this, such as the release of the Russian spies to the whispering into the ear of Medvedev.
The bottom line here is...internationally, Obama is known as very weak. As an American, I will say he is an incompetent fool. He will destroy the USA and it is only a matter of time until the final curtain drops.
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