But North Korea has a regime that wants to live and stay in power. That makes them fairly predictable and predictable people are not crazy. Those religious extremists who have no problem sacrificing children to get what they want? That ain't predictable.
•••Yes, I suppose you are right and I also suppose that religious fanatics also have a calculating side and the ones who rule through the fist of religion have a lot to lose also. So, hopefully, nobody will misbehave.
The US and its allies have the more advanced military the world has ever seen with the capacity to conventionally turn every city in Iran and North Korea to rubble given enough time. We can replace their regimes if we REALLY want to. Now, that would cost a huge amount of money and occupations would be expensive in lives and cash, but in terms of merely capacity, we can do it. Politically we don't have a snowball's chance in hell of pulling it out, but in theory, we could do it.
••• Correct. We can't use nuclear weapons not for lack of them, but because it is the way things are. The same goes for an all out assault UNLESS they demonstrably attacked us in so blatant a manner that we could even attempt to justify it to ourselves, let alone the rest of the world.
Yes, but you don't think oil is completely irrelevant to the invasion at all. Unlike some people here. Afghanistan's another story, largely because the actual organization that pulled 9/11 off did it from there
•••Oil was of lesser relevance in Iraq than was creating a war for profit. We import very little Iraqi oil now even less than the past. But it provided a great opportunity for looting the spoils of war (some through the US treasury) and the issuance of poorly contained contracts and of course, sales of weaponry, an American staple. For oil, we need to protect Canada, eh?
((my usual "I could be wrong disclaimer applies))
But North Korea has a regime that wants to live and stay in power. That makes them fairly predictable and predictable people are not crazy. Those religious extremists who have no problem sacrificing children to get what they want? That ain't predictable.
The US and its allies have the more advanced military the world has ever seen with the capacity to conventionally turn every city in Iran and North Korea to rubble given enough time. We can replace their regimes if we REALLY want to. Now, that would cost a huge amount of money and occupations would be expensive in lives and cash, but in terms of merely capacity, we can do it. Politically we don't have a snowball's chance in hell of pulling it out, but in theory, we could do it.
On this ain't easy. North Korea has nukes that it will use in the event of the regime's fall and Iran has been plastering over every major facility with the type of concrete that has crazy strength so much so that bunker busters are questionable as to their usefulness. But a conventional invasion and occupation in a form of an Iraqi invasion would work. It has absolutely zero political support, but we could do it.
Yes, but you don't think oil is completely irrelevant to the invasion at all. Unlike some people here. Afghanistan's another story, largely because the actual organization that pulled 9/11 off did it from there.