-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Trump threatens to totally destroy North Korea.
- Thread starter 2MF
- Start date
The saddest thing is that decades later authoritarian regimes will continue to play Trump's idiotic speeches as part of propaganda to rile up anti-american sentiments.
UberTag
Member
All in good time... although perhaps that time will come quicker if the US either acts first in its "let's destroy a country so I can have a parade" gambit or fabricates evidence that facilitates this objective as it did with Iraq.
cripterion
Member
Yeah sure, he can talk.
Should not have used the words he used. "total destruction" and "rocket man" is not worthy of the UNGA setting and imo not worthy of the office of the Presidency.
In Germany saying things like "total destruction" immediately brings to mind another loudmouth shouting about "total war"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhAbZZ3liUI&t=16s
In Germany saying things like "total destruction" immediately brings to mind another loudmouth shouting about "total war"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhAbZZ3liUI&t=16s
Prodigal Son
Member
We live in such odd times. If people truly understood how immensely evil it would be to destroy a country, slaughtering countless children and infants in the process, i wonder how many minds would change.
iRAWRasaurus
Banned
Not to defend Trump or anything cause he is a horrible person, but did he say "slaughter countless children and infants"? Destroying a country, to me, is removing the current government.
If anything, we are living through the first time in history where the populace at large actually has some consideration of the consequences of war on civilians of the opposing side.
Tackleberry
Member
Bombing and attacks ALWAYS have collateral damage.
Put it in the back of your mind all you want, but civilians WILL suffer.
either by being directly killed from attacks, or indirectly by torture and starvation from the regime.
It's not clickbait:
- It's copy pasted from the New York times headline.
- Trump literally threatened to totally destroy North Korea. That's what he "actually said".
- The condition he put on it is very vague and doesn't really change much.
iRAWRasaurus
Banned
Yes that is correct, civilians will die if conflict does erupt. But the poster made it sound like trump specific said children and infant. Regardless they are dying either way in the country with the current government.
Would be interesting (as a thought exercise mind you) to see how much a war for NKs total destruction would actually be televised. That country right now is like a media black hole. Would that change the moment tank shells start flying? I doubt the US would go for another "embedded with the troops" media strategy like they did with Iraq cause they would not go there to liberate the people.
Could you keep a large scale civilian suffering secret in the sense that only "fringe" reporters would report about it and it would be dismissed by "mainstream"?
How?
And let's not forget that this is fucking Trump and everything he says should be taken literally because he's a lunatic moron. If he says "destroy" he means "destroy." He hasn't suddenly started speaking in metaphors.
It's also trumps. As the links show.
What's the last time you heard someone saying they'll "totally destroy" a country when they meant removing a government?
If he just said "destroy"... well that still wouldn't mean that, but when you put a "totally" behind it, it makes your interpretation even less likely. Especially because:
Wolfgunblood Garopa
Member
Surgical total destruction. Of the leadership. Just the bad guys! Total destruction of the bad guys only. What, you thought I meant anyone else would get totally destroyed?
Tackleberry
Member
It would be interesting to say the least. The NK side would do nothing but spin it as though the NK military was staging a massive defeat of the US forces, meanwhile their cities are burning.
I feel it would be worse than the Iraqi defense minister saying "everything is fine" as Baghdad is being leveled.
iRAWRasaurus
Banned
Huh? Military force is what Trump is talking about. Of course civilians will die in the process. I get that of course.
It can just mean complete defeat in the make them give up sense, not "lay waste until everything and everyone is ash." And again, context, which too many people decided to miss because they only read the click bait title.
NullPointer
Member
If we hit North Korea we'd have to destroy:
A. Their static artillery emplacements, which number over ten thousand. This would also have to include their mobile rockets and artillery, which are moved here and there and hidden in hardened tunnels and bunkers.
B. Their ICBM and Nuclear program facilities, which are also hardened.
C. Their anti-air defenses, which have been described as formidable. We won't have easy air supremacy like we did in the Korean War.
D. Their leadership and command-and-control.
E. Any conventional ground forces we'd need to neutralize.
We'd have to hit these targets quickly, and very, very heavily. I think what Trump is describing in terms of total destruction, and fire and fury the likes of which the world hasn't seen are no exaggerations. With South Korea and Japan in NK's sights, it would be a terrible amount of destruction and loss of life, and that's even if we managed to do it perfectly, with no retaliation.
North Korea is running the ultimate turtling strategy, and its not in their interest to keep their strategic targets separate from their population centers. A military option here would be devastating, and even under the best of circumstances lead to a humanitarian crisis the likes of which we've never seen.
chrisPjelly
Member
It's going to be fucking tragic, but I honestly don't think Trump has any choice at this point. Even if N.K. didn't have the capacity to directly bombard the U.S. or any of its allies, they still have the ability sell those arms and escalate all current military bouts. I'm not looking forward to what could be the biggest humanitarian crisis of the 21st century, but it's inevitable at this point. If people think the Syrian refugee issues are bad, the outflood of N.K. citizens is going to be one chaotic mess.
Dude Abides
Banned
Why is North Korea going to sell nuclear weapons that could be traced back to them, and to whom?
Stabby McSter
Member
thats how caesar died iirc
It it's not inevitable , there are always alternatives, war just happens to be the easiest (and most profitable) solution.
SchrodingerC
Member
Well this has become an obnoxious cycle of two assholes threatening each other every week.
Well the US position has consistently been "we don't want regime change" so unless Trump just said to hell with that I don't think he meant that.
In any matter, full scale war will always mean innocent men, women and children getting slaughtered. As a leader Trump should realize this and not talk so non-chalantly about destroying states.
What he said:
We will totally destroy North Korea
What he didn't say:
We will remove their goverment.
This "In dubio pro Trump" reading is fascinating. He has been consistent with his empty threats of complete destruction of the country
Bonen no Max'd
Banned
This isn't even that crazy of rhetoric from the US (see Hillary in 2008 saying that the US would "obliterate" Iran if it attacked Israel) but that doesn't exonerate Trump but rather damns our nation as a whole.
radios shipping overview
Member
Usually the US president tries to look like the sane one in these exchanges. This time around they're each at the same level of saber-rattling bluster.
It'll blow over.
It'll blow over.
In fact it doesn't matter, NK regime is used to invent lies to indocrinate their people all the time. Or do you think they have access to what really happens in the outside world?
Prodigal Son
Member
Setting aside the fact that successfully toppling the North Korean government, inevitably would involve countless civilian deaths, nothing Trump has said thus far suggests he's limiting this to petty regime change.
"they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen" isn't intended to suggest anyone is holding back. If we're talking nuclear weaponry here, which the current administration has all but directly stated they would make use of, there's no doubt the 'total destruction' of North Korea goes above and beyond ousting Kim as leader.
I mean, they spent the better part of 5 years establishing an elaborate messenger paper trail to avoid SIGINT while both building a a secret nuclear reactor in Syria and supplying the radioactive materials to do it.
Something the Syrian government denied(We don't have the capacity for it/why would we build a reactor out in the open with no defense/the radiation is israels fault because missles/it wasn't for weapons we swear) until the IAEA called them out on it.
Granted its not exactly nuclear weapons tier, but NK clearly doesn't mind sharing. War remains an undesirable option however.
Pretty much, except one is going to jail or getting impeached. Guess who?
iRAWRasaurus
Banned
lol to many replies to quote so in general, yes I know there will be many death of civilians as stated above. But until trump actually gathers up countless children and infants and order the military to slaughter them, I will think that comment is over blown. Till then take it how you will.
And no, I hate trump.
And no, I hate trump.
The fact that they have a propaganda machine doesn't mean the US president should make it easy for them. There's a reason dissident groups try to disseminate positive images of Americans.
BlackGhost
Banned
.
I actually think it's a good strategy. Some days. Kimball had gotten away with shit talk non stop. Trump is an amazing blowhard. So hopefully that's where it ends. How many more times can NK respond to trump without doing anything? Because they know it's total destruction if they attempt.
Then other days I question just how sane trump is. As in I hope he's in on the strategy, and not getting heated...
Coriolanus
Banned
image search couldnt find the pic. What's the story there?
the "without doing anything" goes both ways tho. The expectation on all sides is that the actors remain sane, even if suffering from the occasional bout of diarrhea of the mouth.
Nope
BlackGhost
Banned
Apparently it's during the speech today. Just search Kelly or john Kelly on twitter
DontBeThatGuy
Member
He's a a blithering idiot, and the fact that some can't see wrong with how he "articulates" his dickwaving is kind of pathetic.
also, nothing is going to happen.
also, nothing is going to happen.
hydragonwarrior
Member
Well more of his advisors are probably grabbing their second round at the bar. "Why can't he shut up for one second?"
Coriolanus
Banned
bitbydeath
Member
He won't target them directly, they'll just be considered as collateral damage as with every war.
That said, I want to hear from China, if any country can turn this into WW3 it will be them getting involved.