MSNBC has an interesting account of a North Korea missile factory shipment to Libya. North Korea’s major sources of income consist of foreign aid (from western nations as well as loyalist Koreans in Japan), slave labor exports to China (and often to U.S. with a “Made in China” label) – and military hardware and technology sales to dictatorships around the world. Although I am skeptical about its chances for success, North Korea’s latest quest to develop nuclear weapons is a clincher in the case to take it out. No need to send in a large US force – drop a few nukes to take out Pyongyang, and the enslaved North Koreans will take care of the rest (and be eternally grateful to us for it!)
Are nukes really necessary? I think one just has to take out the nuclear plants and the leadership, and that can be done without either nukes OR a ground force.
No, nukes probably aren’t necessary. But they weren’t “necessary” when we used them on Japan either. My point that that in any tradeoff between a bigger bomb and the lives of US soldiers, we have to be clear on where our priorities lie.