Freedom Act of 2005

[Jake]

This will almost certainly end food aid to North Korea and Zimbabwe.  You can decide for yourselves if that's good or bad, and I'll keep my own view to myself as GM, but you should know that its almost certain that this bill will indirectly change policy towards those two very controversial nations.

We'll see how the situation with Mugabe and Kim changes when their people are starving.  Either they lash out and are destroyed or they collapse.

[Jake]

We'll see how the situation with Mugabe and Kim changes when their people are starving.  Either they lash out and are destroyed or they collapse.

Worst case senerio, Kim sees the end is near and launches a nuclear warhead on Japan, or South Korea or Tiawan or Australia or even the US... with the promise of launching more if we do not resume aid.

What does it matter that we can bomb his ass into the ground, millions of people on our side will be dead.  Do you people think before you say things?

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First, Kim has very little chance of successfully attacking Japan with a weapon, and can actually cause more damage to Seoul if he attacks it with a mass artillery barage than a nuke.  Second, he cannot attack the US, Taiwan, Australia, or any other country other than Japan or South Korea with a nuclear weapon as he has only short range missles and some crappy fighter bombers. His chances of successfully attacking Japan is low due to Japanese missle defenses.  

[Jake]

If they could mate a nuclear warhead on it.  They cannot.

[Jake]

If they could mate a nuclear warhead on it.  They cannot.

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030908-115609-6505r.htm

The Taepo-Dong 2 (range as quoted - 2300Km) can carry a payload of several hundred pounds, barely enough for a nuclear warhead.

The Taepo-Dong X (range as quoted - 3400Km) can carry an unspecified payload, the problem is, neither of these missles have the range to attack the US proper, and I very much doubt their effectiveness and whether warheads are mounted on them and whether they have the numbers they'll needs to assure success.

[Jake]

If they could mate a nuclear warhead on it.  They cannot.

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030908-115609-6505r.htm

The Taepo-Dong 2 (range as quoted - 2300Km) can carry a payload of several hundred pounds, barely enough for a nuclear warhead.

The Taepo-Dong X (range as quoted - 3400Km) can carry an unspecified payload, the problem is, neither of these missles have the range to attack the US proper, and I very much doubt their effectiveness and whether warheads are mounted on them and whether they have the numbers they'll needs to assure success.

What the Hell are you talking about.  The article says that both have the capacity to hit the west coast of the US.  And even if they can't, they can certainly hit other places.

As I said before, a single warhead wieghs far less than the old bombs carried by the B-52's.  One war head will wiegh only about 200-300 lbs.

The article gives ranges for both, 2300 Km and 3400 Km.  Distances from Korea to the US are in the 6000 Miles range.

[Jake]

Even if that was true, and one article doesn't make it so (proven by Iraq WMDs), those ranges make it extremely unlikely that a successfull attack could be mounted.  Warhead failure, missle failure, bad targeting, bad ranging, malfunction, etc, make this scenario barely feasible at best.

As far as whether Kim would launch an attack, either on us or our allies, is up in the air. He knows it means certain destruction when we retaliate and he knows that if he survives, he will have no power our will be in a US prison just like Saddam.