Thread: Army chief: US able to fight NKorea if necessary

Army chief: US able to fight NKorea if necessary

By ANNE GEARAN, Associated Press Writer Anne Gearan, Associated Press Writer – Thu May 28, 8:09 pm ET
WASHINGTON – The United States could fight an old-fashioned war against North Korea if necessary, even while newer forms of conflict against terrorists and extremists continue, the Army's top officer said Thursday.

Asked whether the United States would be prepared to fight if war broke out between South Korea and North Korea, Gen. George Casey replied, "The short answer is yes," then added that "it would probably take us a little bit longer to shift gears" away from the type of counterinsurgency fighting that now occupies the Army.

Casey said his usual rubric for how long it would take the Army to gear up for a new "conventional" war is about 90 days. That doesn't mean it would take 90 days for the U.S. to effectively fight the North's million-man army, he said.

"We'd move forces as rapidly as we could get them prepared," Casey said during an appearance at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

North Korea has threatened war following condemnation of its underground nuclear test this week, and the United States has a long-term commitment to South Korea's defense.

"This is a combat-seasoned force" that can pivot quickly, Casey said.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, speaking to reporters as he traveled to the Far East for a conference with defense ministers, said North Korea's actions have not reached a crisis level that would warrant additional U.S. troops in the region.

"What we do have, though, are two new developments that are very provocative, that are aggressive, accompanied by very aggressive rhetoric," Gates said. "And I think it brings home the reality of the challenge that North Korea poses to the region and to the international community."

Casey, the Army's chief of staff, suggested that war with the nuclear-armed North might not be the old-style land war that U.S. forces stationed in South Korea were envisioned to fight. He did not elaborate, but he was presumably referring to the possibility that the North might use or threaten to use its proven nuclear capability.

Casey focused on his plans to rearrange the Army around the "reality scenario" of sustained counterterrorism conflict. The reality of permanent war means the United States should have 10 Army brigades and Marine Corps regiments available for overseas conflict worldwide, he said.

"It's not just Iraq and Afghanistan," Casey said. Including Iraq in his contingency planning is not to say that the United States won't honor its agreement with Iraq to pull forces from the country by 2012, he said.

"We will execute the draw down plan that has been executed between our governments," he said.

"I don't know that anyone knows what the security relationship and force level will be, if there are any, in Iraq," after the scheduled withdrawal of combat forces," he added. "That's very much to be determined."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_pentagon_nkorea

Hey... lets start another regional war in Georgia and pull Russia in

While we are at it lets go after China and do a naval blockade on Iran while we bomb Pakistan from the air

We can drop the 18th Airborne corp in south America and Invade Mexico and Annex it while we continue our ocupation in Afganistan and Iraq

Terrorists are invading America through our WIDE OPEN SOUTHERN BORDER ... we must attact the world before it's too late... let's sling Nuclear warheads and hope we hit something... quick, start digging your nuclear bunker or hide under your desk.....

now ........ in saying all of that

Who the hell are these freaks in the Pentagon and why are they talking trash to News Reporters

is the goal to deplete are armed forces ...... someone needs to retire these Megalomaniacs and put them all in a "NUT HOUSE" for deprograming

FILE - In this May 12, 2009, file photo, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Army's budget. On May 26, 2009, during a invitation-only briefing to a dozen journalists and policy analysts from Washington based think-tanks, Casey said the Pentagon is prepared to leave fighting forces in Iraq for as long as a decade despite an agreement between the United States and Iraq that would bring all American troops home by 2012.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Time for us to step away from other countries military obligations and win the war between the illegal invaders, the political elites that support the invaders over us, and the legal citizens of America.

Originally Posted by ELE

Time for us to step away from other countries military obligations and win the war between the illegal invaders, the political elites that support the invaders over us, and the legal citizens of America.

You are so right! Let the rest of the world fight their own battles for a change. I'm sick to death of my country putting so much on the line only to be slapped in the face time and time again by the "righteousness" of other nations. Do it yourselves for a while.

melena29 wrote:

You are so right! Let the rest of the world fight their own battles for a change.

What's happening now in North Korea could seriously impact our safety in future years. Therefore, what happens in North Korea is our problem.

Originally Posted by MW

melena29 wrote:

You are so right! Let the rest of the world fight their own battles for a change.

What's happening now in North Korea could seriously impact our safety in future years. Therefore, what happens in North Korea is our problem.

There are all kinds of things going on in the world right now that could impact our safety, now and in the future. It has been to our detriment that we have taken the burden of these things on our shoulders, and off the rest of the world, thus enabling them to remain complacent because the good old U.S. of A. has it all under control. And where are we for all of it?

We are spread so thin that what we have out there cannot be truly effective; and so we are reviled around the world for our failures, and resented for our successes.

The biggest threat to our safety right now is the one from within. Our government is working tirelessly to facilitate our demise for its own personal gain, corporations whose success is due entirely to the economic climate that this country ensures for its people are working tirelessly to flood our country with foreigners who are driving us out of our very lives, and the news media is in cahoots with them both to keep Americans “safely in the darkâ€

melena wrote:

It begins at home, MW, and right now the need is here. Let's secure this first, and then we can turn our attention to the needs and protection of other lands.

I understand where you're coming from but I think you're missing my point. North Korea's ability to make nuclear weapons could have a direct impact on us. I say nip it in the bud now, not wait until the danger escalates to a point where American lives are at serious risk. In my mind, this isn't about the "needs and protection of other lands," it's about the protection of our fathers, mothers, children, siblings, cousins, friends, etc. - it's about protecting American citizens!

I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one.

Originally Posted by MW

melena wrote:

It begins at home, MW, and right now the need is here. Let's secure this first, and then we can turn our attention to the needs and protection of other lands.

I understand where you're coming from but I think you're missing my point. North Korea's ability to make nuclear weapons could have a direct impact on us. I say nip it in the bud now, not wait until the danger escalates to a point where American lives are at serious risk. In my mind, this isn't about the "needs and protection of other lands," it's about the protection of our fathers, mothers, children, siblings, cousins, friends, etc. - it's about protecting American citizens!

I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one.

Fair enough, MW. Your point is well taken.

I don't think we should be doing anything along the lines of going on the offensive, but perhaps instead should be investing in some serious defensive armament instead.