Report: South Korean navy ship sinking

[James48843]

Navy, for now! Do you think we will just stand by and watch? What are you afraid of, getting beat again?

No- I don't think we'd just stand by and watch. What I was referring to is asking what you think we should send, in response to the sinking of a South Korean Navy Ship.

Because we're stretched a little thin at the moment. We had to take 20,000 U.S. Army out of South Korea since the Iraq War started, just so we could meet our obligations in Iraq, and now the buildup in Afghanistan. That really pared down our forces on-station in Korea.

So if the North Koreans decide to come over the border, it's not like we have a half-million soldiers that we can throw in quickly to repel the attack.

I was just asking- what do you think we COULD send in, should the balloon go up over there.

Currently we have about 25,000 total military personnel in Korea. South Korea has 655,000 active duty, and another 3 million or so reserves. North Korean has 1.1 million active, and 4 million reserves.

If those 4 or 5 million come over the border- it isn't going to be pretty.

Remember Task Force Smith:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task_Force_Smith

 

[James48843]

Remember the "Maine"?

What are the chance this incident was caused by the "USS Blackwater"?

Bunch of Mercenaries...funded by Neocon $$, from the Billions they made in Iraq, saved a tiny pocket sub from Iraq and did this??

Now THERE's a stretch.

No, I did not know Iraq had tiny pocket submarines.

Or that Xe, (the company formerly known as Blackwater) had any subs.

I guess you never know, do you?

My guess is more like this- a group of South Korean ships were out playing tag right along the line, one of them shot off a few rounds of a deck gun at a N. Korean ship, and then, the North hit them back with a missile or something. You notice the news isn't talking a great deal about the shots fired BEFORE the South Korean ship was hit. It kind of looks like they are burying that part of it.

We'll have to wait for a while to see what the real facts are. Our government is being pretty quiet about it, as is the South Koreans. Something tells me there is a lot more to the story we haven't heard yet.

 

[James48843]

Here is what "Voice of America" is saying today:

Dozens Missing From Sunken South Korean Navy Vessel

Kurt Achin | Seoul

South Korea is scrambling to locate at least 46 South Korean military personnel missing after a one of the South's naval patrol vessels sank in a tense maritime area disputed by North Korea. Seoul is investigating what caused the incident, but holding off for now on blaming the North.

South Korean officials say rescuing sailors remains their top priority. One hundred four South Korean navy personnel were on board the patrol ship in waters west of the Korean peninsula Friday night when it was apparently damaged by an explosion and sank.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called an emergency meeting of top security officials Saturday, for the second time in a 12-hour period. South Korean authorities say they are investigating "all possibilities" as to why the ship went down, including the scenario that the ship was attacked by North Korea.

The incident occurred near South Korea's Baekryoung island, next to what is called the Northern Limit Line - a maritime border drawn by the United Nations at the signing of an armistice that paused the 1950s Korean War.

North Korea has challenged the legitimacy of the border, and the two sides have fought at least three naval skirmishes in the area in the past 11 years.

Still, South Korean officials are downplaying the notion the ship was attacked by North Korea - in part, because the incident occurred southwest of Baekryoung island, deep in South Korean waters.

Carl Baker, a Korean security specialist and director of Pacific Forum CSIS in Honolulu, agrees a North Korean role seems unlikely.

"You know, it looks to me like it was a naval accident, an unfortunate naval accident, that happened. I mean, it just seems like it was an explosion on the ship. And I'm just kind of skeptical about it being a North Korean attack or something," said Baker.

Baker says the timing of such an attack would be strange, given recent reports of a possible upcoming visit to China by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and the possible resumption of talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.

"If it is... a North Korean attack, it would signal something kind of strange that isn't consistent with all the other news going on at this point," said Baker.

North Korea is also seeking to relieve the pressure international sanctions has put on its sputtering economy - in part, by asking South Korea for a renewal of economic joint projects. Some analysts believe a military attack would contradict those efforts.

http://www1.voanews.com/english/new...unken-South-Korean-Navy-Vessel--89321222.html