I expect an apology from every talking head that belittled Bernie after the debate re North Korea.

[jillan]

Oh that Bernie - snicker - he doesn't know anything about foreign policy.
He really struggled with that answer about what country concerns him the most. snicker snicker.

I can still see and hear John Podesta's disgust discussing this.

Well guess what John and the rest of you....
Bernie was right! and your candidate Hillary was not.

Every day I am more and more convinced I am backing the right candidate.....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/north-korea-launches-long-range-rocket-it-says-is-carrying-satellite_us_56b69987e4b01d80b2469637

North Korea Launches Long-Range Rocket It Says Is Carrying Satellite

[mikehiggins]

1. Oh, like that will count with HRC supporters.

Being right, AGAIN, just doesn't matter if Albright says there's a place in hell for any woman who doesn't support the Anointed One.

God only knows what Henry the K will think.

And Podesta? I'd prefer to quote O'Rielly. Billy Bob may be a troglodyte (sp) but at least he's not someone like that.

[jillan]

3. We just have to be louder & make them hear us.... actually

If you go to that link at HuffPo the majority of comments are all about how Bernie was right.

People are paying attention.

[ProudToBeLiberal]

2. He said North Korea was ruled by a couple of tyrants.

North Korea only has one dictator and that is Kim Jong-un.

[jillan]

5. That is NOT what he said - omg - here are his exact words....

I worry very, very much about an isolated country. That's what makes me nervous. Russia lives in the world. China lives in the world. North Korea is a very, very strange country because it is so isolated, and I do feel that a nation with nuclear weapons… they have got to be dealt with,” he said, adding that leaning on China would do the trick.

https://www.rt.com/usa/331363-hillary-bernie-debate-foreign-policy/

I am biting my tongue in my response to your erroneous reply.

[SoLeftIAmRight]

7. you are silly if you think that

North Korea only has one dictator and that is Kim Jong-un.

[oasis]

19. Yup, he caught himself after saying "group of rulers" then to "one ruler".

Later Bernie said "they have the atomic bomb". I turned to my wife "what is this, the sixties?"

[Kentonio]

25. He didn't correct himself

He correctly stated that it could be either. If you know anything about North Korea, you'd know that that is correct. We simply don't know who actually controls the levers of power. There is supposedly a constant power struggle going on amongst the inner circle.

[kristopher]

29. +1 thanks, beat me to it.

[oasis]

36. "Handful of dictators....maybe just one". Bernie's exact words.

I just saw the replay on MSNBC.

[Kentonio]

37. Exactly. It could be the inner circle running the show or just him.

We really don't know.

[oasis]

43. Baby Kim is a sappy dope, but I agree w/ Bernie about his

Paranoia.

Anyway enjoy the Super Bowl. Go Panthers.

[longship]

32. DPRK is, as Christopher Hitchens said, a necrocity.

Kim-Jong-Un is a mere place holder for his father, Kim-Jong-Il, who is only a placeholder for his father, Kim Il Sung, the actual perpetual president of the DPRK.

The only president of the DPRK has been dead for years. His son and his grandson are mere placeholders. Poor North Koreans.

[tazkcmo]

33. Do you have a link to your statement?

Or did that one get pulled out from some dark, moist, stinky place?

[MADem]

4. You do know that Li'l Kim ANNOUNCED this was going to happen WEEKS ago?

It's not a shock, or news.

It's in honor of his Deddy's birthday.

You know what else everyone figures?

He's trying to perfect his rocket technology so he can threaten to nuke us.

He did some underground nuke testing last month.

This, too, is not news. Anyone who read the paper knew this.

It's nice that the Senator is reading the paper, but this isn't "proof" of anything particularly "recommending" (save that he, too, has kept up with the news) , and it's not the first time Li'l Kim has rattled the sabre at us--it won't be the last, either.

[jillan]

11. Well then maybe Li'l Kim should contact the Prime Minister of Japan because it took him by surprise

and he's not very happy about it. Neither is U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
They are preparing their response.

If only they would've listened to Lil Kim.....

[MADem]

13. No, it didn't "take him by surprise." If it did, he would have shot the thing down.

Li'l Kim ANNOUNCED he was going to do this, and he even gave a window of dates when it was going to happen.

And seeing as the UN was notified, it didn't take THEM by surprise either,

See? Here's a Reuters article where people are saying "Don't do it, Li'l Kim!"

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-satellite-idUSKCN0VB1NY

nternational pressure grew on North Korea to call off a planned rocket launch, seen by some governments as another missile test, while Japan put its military on alert to shoot down any rocket that threatens its territory.

North Korea notified United Nations agencies on Tuesday of its plan to launch what it called an "earth observation satellite" some time between Feb. 8 and 25.

Pyongyang has said it has a sovereign right to pursue a space programme, although the United States and other governments suspect such rocket launches are tests of its missiles.

They did what they often do, though, they weighed in early! I suppose you might call that a "surprise" but given that the Japanese didn't blow them out of the sky, I'm pretty sure they knew what it was before it left the launch pad.

Here's another article on the topic--as you can see, this is NOT the first time for this kind of thing:

In Washington, Daniel Russel, the top diplomat for East Asia, said the U.S. was closely tracking reports of the North's planned launch. He said a launch that uses ballistic missile technology would be another violation of a U.N. ban and strengthens the argument for the international community to impose "real consequences" on North Korea for destabilizing behavior. He called for the imposition of tough additional sanctions.
Russel said a launch "would be an unmistakable slap in face to those who argue that you just need to show patience and dialogue with the North Koreans but not sanctions," in an apparent reference to China.
A South Korean official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of office rules, said Seoul was also informed of the plans, and estimated that the first stage of the rocket would fall off the west coast of South Korea, more debris would land near the South's Jeju Island, and the second stage would land off the Philippines' east coast.
North Korea's last long-range rocket launch, in December 2012, was seen as having successfully put the country's first satellite into orbit after a string of failures. The North also told international agencies before that launch of its plans. Each new rocket launch improves North Korea's missile technology, which is crucial for its goal of developing a nuclear-armed missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.


Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-agency-north-korea-satellite-month.html#jCp

[SunSeeker]

15. Thank you for bringing facts, and links, into the conversation.

I really appreciate your knowledgeable posts. They are sorely needed on this board.

[betsuni]

16. Thanks! This sort of thing happens so often that I can't (here in Japan) be bothered to freak out.

[Bonobo]

23. Really? How often do you think it happens? You're wrong.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_North_Korean_missile_tests

They have never shot one over Okinawa before. The others have never reached Japan, landing in the Sea of Japan only.

[Art_from_Ark]

27. It does not happen often here in Japan

North Korea launched a rocket over Hokkaido in 1998. Then 2 or 3 years ago, they launched another rocket that crossed Japanese air space on its way to the ocean off the coast of Okinawa. As far as I know, those are the only two times (besides the present one) where North Korea has launched a rocket that violated Japanese air space.

[Bonobo]

28. Thank you. I was like WTF? nt

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. "Li'l Kim ANNOUNCED he was going to do this"

The media was surprised.

They pay for blowhards to occupy studios.

The rest of the world?

Well, It's news to them.

[kristopher]

30. MADem, I'm afraid you are the one that lacks understanding of Foreign Policy.

It is clear you are completely out of your depth.

[Bonobo]

34. +1 Kristopher. nt

[Goblinmonger]

38. So if all of this is common knowledge you get from the newspaper,

why wasn't Clinton more worried about a nuclear capable country that had developed a long range rocket that they could use to nuke us. Seems like something that would go to the top of anyone's list.

[MADem]

44. Because this isn't the first time Li'l Kim has pulled this shit, and it won't be the last.

Does everyone have amnesia? Hello....2012?

Every country around NK--and beyond--with interest in this issue has been monitoring them closely for years, as a matter of course. This is not a shock by any stretch. It's expected, particularly since Li'l Kim came right out and announced it.

Their "capability" is dependent entirely on old school Russian technology. And they've yet to be able to build a reentry mechanism, so they'll have difficulty nuking us or anyone else if they can't persuade their "satellite launches" to come to earth in a controlled and guided fashion.

When they do a nuke test (which they did in January) you can figure a satellite launch will soon follow. NK likes to do all their "pissing people off" in close proximity. That way, the sanctions that inevitably follow are "bundled" and don't last as long as two events separately.

NK are a client of China, I should think there will be a lot of snarling at them to get control of their unruly child--China tends to prefer to do as little as they absolutely must with regard to NK; so they'll have to be persuaded to get a little more motivated towards keeping their kid in line. They know how to play carrot-and-stick with those morons, and they need to take the lead on this. At least for now...if they demonstrate an unwillingness to display leadership, other actors will have to step in, but we don't need to be Lead Dog on this evolution at this stage of the game. We can harrumph and finger wag and poke China to get them in line, but we don't need to be getting all excited and threatening to nuke 'em a la Teddy Cruz and the rest of the GOP clown car. We've got enough on our plate with China trying to put up a toll road in the South China sea...!

[merrily]

6. North Korea probably did that just to make Hillary look bad.

[jillan]

9. Well let's hope Putin doesn't try to make Bernie look bad

[merrily]

10. Why would a fellow communist and fellow misogynist do that?

Just press the reset button, comrade.

[jillan]

12. Oh yes - I almost forgot about that reset button!

Silly me!!

[senz]

21. lol!

When you're on, you're on, merrily.

[merrily]

26. Thanks, senz. You're always on!

[Uncle Joe]

8. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, jillan.

[Warren DeMontague]

14. 'course he was right. His answer was spot on.

Five minutes later HRC was touting being buddy buddy with Henry Kissinger, and she's supposed to be the "credible" one on foreign policy?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

17. The pundits are part of the problem.

[senz]

20. Bernie gets to the core of things. He's experienced, wise, and trustworthy at every level.

He is exactly what the country needs at this time. We are not going to get a better candidate for president.

[Bonobo]

22. Yes!! I live in Japan and this is not joke!

Foreign policy wisdom is a fuckload more important than foreign policy "experience".

Shit, Donald Rumsfeld has forign policy "experience"!

And no, this does not "happen all the time". It happened maybe two times before this, with both missiles not reaching the shores of Japan and two or more failing completely.

Never has one flown so far, and over Japanese soil like this. This was an implicit threat that says "Yes, we can reach Tokyo".

[MADem]

45. They aren't aiming at you. nt

[Betty Karlson]

24. Don't hold your breath... eom

[jmowreader]

31. I'm going with Russia as more dangerous than the DPRK

This is why.

http://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/North_Korea_Military_Power_Report_2013-2014.pdf

North Korea has a military designed to do exactly one thing: invade South Korea. Their equipment is wore slam out. They are entirely dependent on foreign oil because there isn't any under the DPRK. The whole freakin' country owns three cargo planes, with TOTAL lift capacity of 126 tons. Their vaunted "long range missile" capability is gained by welding SCUD missilles together, and it's more of a V-2 style terror weapon than it is a viable weapon system because, as the last four tests have gone to prove, North Korea is very good at building missiles that don't work.

And lest we forget, Kim, Jong Un is holding onto power by the skin of his teeth.

The DPRK might be able to conduct a nuclear attack - but they can't follow it up with ground troops unless they decided to invade South Korea.

On the other hand, Russia can fire hundreds of accurate and reliable ICBMs and hit anything they want, close sea lanes, disrupt aerial resupply, and insert two airborne divisions into the United States within 36 hours of first alert.

[jeff47]

35. Yeah, a nuclear attack is no big deal.

[jmowreader]

39. With no expeditionary force to back it up, it isn't a feasible scenario

Here is an illustration of what would happen if North Korea conducted an unprovoked nuclear attack:

You attack another country because you want something they have. KJU is under the impression the US and their South Korean Puppets are going to just rush up there any minute now and take over his country...because, as we all know, EVERYONE is just rarin' to go to war to capture the world's most un-navigable terrain, technology 30 years out of date, and 25 million starving people. Therefore, he has nuclear weapons as a threat - "invade my country and I'll nuke Hawaii flat." They wouldn't want to nuke South Korea because they need the ROK's industrial base.

Their only major natural resource is rare earths, which are used to make electronics. The DPRK has a LOT of them - the best estimate is North Korea has reserves six times that of China. No one would go to war over rare earths, though; you can get them from China through a normal purchase, and if the stupid bastard that runs North Korea would quit unilaterally cancelling contracts he could sell them easily for all the hard currency North Korea would ever need.

OTOH, the United States has a LOT of things North Korea desperately needs and can't afford to buy, like food and petroleum. There is no way they could take that stuff from here as spoils of war, though: They don't have the troops they need to take over the US, nor the transport to get them there...or the transport to move the looted booty back to the US...or, most critically, the will to fight fifty million heavily-armed American civilians on our home soil.

If KJU were to get up one morning and decide to nuke the United States for no good reason, the generals who have had just about enough of his shit - and who also know nuking the United States without cause would invite instantaneous hundredfold retaliation - would put three rounds in KJU's five ring and the threat would end at that point.

Russia is a different story. They HAVE an expeditionary force, and quite a good one. They have plenty of transport and logistics. They ALSO have the brains to draw America into a war far from the US mainland, which would enable them to cut our supply lines. Look back in history: one of the Nazis' most successful tactics during World War II was to use submarines to sink our supply ships.

Because Russia has the means to prosecute a war and North Korea does not, Russia is a bigger threat to the US than North Korea is.

[jeff47]

40. North Korea has nukes to use them for extortion.

They extort the foreign aid that keeps their people alive.

What happens if countries start refusing?

Either the country collapses, or North Korea has to make good on its threat. From Kim's position, he's dead in both scenarios. So why not hurt his enemies on the way out? Might as well get something in return for his death.

And seriously. Russian invasion? It isn't 1968 anymore. For example, this:

Russia is a different story. They HAVE an expeditionary force, and quite a good one. They have plenty of transport and logistics. They ALSO have the brains to draw America into a war far from the US mainland, which would enable them to cut our supply lines. Look back in history: one of the Nazis' most successful tactics during World War II was to use submarines to sink our supply ships.

...has the minor problem that Russia hasn't been able to afford to keep the vast majority of its submarine forces operable. Kinda hard to interdict those supply ships when you don't have a way to get to them.

[jmowreader]

41. They have surface ships, though

Seriously though, Russia wouldn't invade the US mainland and they don't need to sink ships. There's no strategic reason to. They can bankrupt the US by attacking one of our allies in Europe or on the Mediterranean (like...oh, Israel) and letting us run out of money hauling supplies to our troops.

[jeff47]

42. You mean "targets"?

There's a reason the Germans turned to U-boats. Their surface fleet was utterly outmatched by the US and British.

The Russian surface fleet is nowhere near a competitor to the US fleet. They'd be sunk quickly if they attempted to use their surface fleet to interdict supply convoys.

They can bankrupt the US by attacking one of our allies in Europe or on the Mediterranean (like...oh, Israel) and letting us run out of money hauling supplies to our troops.

And how would Russia afford that? Russia is heavily dependent on selling oil and gas to keep their economy going. If Russia starts a war with the West, their income goes away.

Even ignoring the destruction of their military forces, how does Russia afford to keep its troops in that long, grinding war to bankrupt the US?

Sell to China? China's income is dependent on selling goods to the West. If they violate sanctions on Russia, that's gonna come to a screeching halt.

Russia is nowhere near the military threat you claim.

And we haven't even gotten into the pointlessness of conquering radioactive wasteland.

[in_cog_ni_to]

46. Yep, saw that this morning and thought the same thing....with a few colorful words sprinkled in

for good measure.

AGAIN, HRH was freakin' WRONG. Bernie was right. His judgement is 100 times better than hers.

PEACE
LOVE
BERNIE