Good morning everyone! 

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/north-korea-soon-launch-attack-hawaii/

North Korea Could Soon Launch Attack on Hawaii

Experts call for immediate upgrade in state's missile defenses

Excerpts:

North Korea could soon have the capacity to launch an attack on Hawaii that would devastate America's Pacific military bases, accelerating the need for the United States to upgrade missile defenses in the area.

The United States today relies on ground-based ballistic missile interceptors deployed in California and Alaska to protect Hawaii, but these defenses would do little to guard U.S. territory in the Pacific against a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which officials believe is nearing completion.

Ariel Cohen, director of the Center for Energy, Natural Resources, and Geopolitics at the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, told the Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday that the Defense Department needs to immediately upgrade the Aegis Ashore facility in Hawaii from experimental to operational to guard against North Korean aggression.

"Senior national security leaders have stated that the U.S. needs to work off the assumption that North Korea will have ICBM capabilities soon, and in this business ‘soon' could mean five to 10 years, or earlier," Cohen said.

"Our intelligence has been surprised again and again by technology developments by adversaries or attacks the U.S. didn't foresee," Cohen said. "Hawaii has a particularly symbolic history of this given the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Let's not be surprised this time, let's be prepared."

Ariel Cohen, director of the Center for Energy, Natural Resources, and Geopolitics at the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, told the Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday that the Defense Department needs to immediately upgrade the Aegis Ashore facility in Hawaii from experimental to operational to guard against North Korean aggression.

Good morning everyone! 

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/north-korea-soon-launch-attack-hawaii/

North Korea Could Soon Launch Attack on Hawaii

Experts call for immediate upgrade in state's missile defenses

Excerpts:

North Korea could soon have the capacity to launch an attack on Hawaii that would devastate America's Pacific military bases, accelerating the need for the United States to upgrade missile defenses in the area.

The United States today relies on ground-based ballistic missile interceptors deployed in California and Alaska to protect Hawaii, but these defenses would do little to guard U.S. territory in the Pacific against a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which officials believe is nearing completion.

Ariel Cohen, director of the Center for Energy, Natural Resources, and Geopolitics at the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, told the Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday that the Defense Department needs to immediately upgrade the Aegis Ashore facility in Hawaii from experimental to operational to guard against North Korean aggression.

"Senior national security leaders have stated that the U.S. needs to work off the assumption that North Korea will have ICBM capabilities soon, and in this business ‘soon' could mean five to 10 years, or earlier," Cohen said.

"Our intelligence has been surprised again and again by technology developments by adversaries or attacks the U.S. didn't foresee," Cohen said. "Hawaii has a particularly symbolic history of this given the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Let's not be surprised this time, let's be prepared."

The fake news networks/papers like CNN and Washington Post are claiming that N. Korea is aiming for U.S. bases in Japan. Not sure if this is real or not. But the analogy about a squabble between brothers might be applicable here. They can strike at the U.S. via Japan. Or more to the point, they can threaten the U.S. via Japan. We have 57,000 troops over there. And whose to say that Japan won't want a preemptive strike? To me, these are more realistic scenarios. JMHO

"Deterrence" only plays a role when dealing with "rational actors". I have no idea how "rational" the leaders of North Korea or Iran really are or aren't. Difficult to determine how much of the "news" about the North Korean leader is real and how much is exaggeration or outright propaganda. Same with the Iranians.  But at least one of them professes belief in a religious ideology that makes martyrdom for the "cause" the highest possible form of religious service and human activity. I doubt we can rely on projecting what completely rational people would do in either case.

The fake news networks/papers like CNN and Washington Post are claiming that N. Korea is aiming for U.S. bases in Japan. Not sure if this is real or not. But the analogy about a squabble between brothers might be applicable here. They can strike at the U.S. via Japan. Or more to the point, they can threaten the U.S. via Japan. We have 57,000 troops over there. And whose to say that Japan won't want a preemptive strike? To me, these are more realistic scenarios. JMHO

US forces in Japan and Korea are definitely concerned about North Korea and China for that matter.  There are a LOT of troops in that region and you have to include Guam and other forward/training installations/posts. 

A while back, I recall something about armed clashing of NK and SK troops.  I think it was in 2015.  I thought someone died in one of the incidents, but I can't seem to find any articles that mentioned that now.  Anyways, I was like "oh shit, this stuff is the start of the next WWIII". Remember the movie War Games where at the end the computer was trying to figure out how to win the game of Global Thermonuclear War.  There were all sorts of scenarios of regional conflicts between smaller "nations" that explode.  That's sort of what I always thought would lead to WWIII. 

Before N. Korea started acting stupid I always felt that WWIII was going to start in the middle east with Israel, Iran and Russia somehow involved. But now that N. Korea is trying to get our attention, I wouldn't doubt that if something were to happen it could be with them and China.

Yeah.  Up until about 5 years ago, I thought it would start somewhere in the middle east.  No particular players, but I could definitely see it starting with Israel, Iran and Russia.  Even when Russia started the Crimea thing, I thought that was definitely potential for a LOT more.  Another area would be stuff like India and Pakistan.  All sorts of national, regional, whatever conflicts that go back thousands of years.  Sometimes I wonder if the groups really remember why they don't get along, that they've traditionally always been hostile to each other. 

Sometimes I used to view North Korea as the bastard stepchild that doesn't get any attention and are viewed as not an alpha, so they act out, threaten, beat their chest, all the while not really being in a position of strength.  I think that has been and is changing, but I still see them sort of in that light.

Yup, time has a way of healing some and making others forget. Take your pick.

The only reason I am worried about N. Korea is because they are like a two year old throwing a temper tantrum with a loaded gun (Nuclear tipped missile) in their hand. It is hard to reason with a two year old. And when they thrash out irrationally.....

Apparently at least some Japanese politicians are taking the threat very seriously, asking for Japan to develop "first strike" capability.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-japan-idUSKBN16F0YE

As North Korea missile threat grows, Japan lawmakers argue for first strike options

Excerpt:

Rattled by North Korean military advances, influential Japanese lawmakers are pushing harder for Japan to develop the ability to strike preemptively at the missile facilities of its nuclear-armed neighbor.

Japan has so far avoided taking the controversial and costly step of acquiring bombers or weapons such as cruise missiles with enough range to strike other countries, relying instead on its U.S. ally to take the fight to its enemies.

But the growing threat posed by Pyongyang, including Monday's simultaneous launch of four rockets, is adding weight to an argument that aiming for the archer rather than his arrows is a more effective defense.

"If bombers attacked us or warships bombarded us, we would fire back. Striking a country lobbing missiles at us is no different," said Itsunori Onodera, a former defense minister who heads a ruling Liberal Democratic Party committee looking at how Japan can defend against the North Korean missile threat. "Technology has advanced and the nature of conflict has changed."