Article

2007-01-20 China-Japan-Koreas

Ex- defence chief suggests military action against N Korea

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Fred 2007-01-20 00:00|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 A Clinton appointee making perfect sense. How did this guy get passed the Clinton vetting process?

Posted by Mike N. 2007-01-20 00:57|| 2007-01-20 00:57|| Front Page Top

#2 I'd bet money Perry is only suggesting this because he knows its not going to happen with Iraq/Iran on our plate. It something with which to beat Bush over the head. It goes like this "Bush can't take out the real threat because of the Iraqi misadventure".

If Bush said "Good Idea Perry. I'm launching a pre-emptive strike". The left would have a cow.

Posted by Lanny Ddub 2007-01-20 01:16|| 2007-01-20 01:16|| Front Page Top

#3 Exactly. It's part of the 'what about North Korea/Sudan/let's go only with Afghanistan/oh, look-puppies!' strategy.

Posted by Pappy 2007-01-20 01:45|| 2007-01-20 01:45|| Front Page Top

#4 IIRC, Perry was the sole Republican appointee in the Clinton administration. That's why he sounds like an adult.

However, I'd like to see Japan take the lead on NK. Sadly, the world's tyrants, collaborators, and weaklings have little reason to take the US seriously right now. But Japan could cause some fouled drawers in Pyongyang, Seoul and Beijing. You'd think the possibility of being bombed, invaded, and occupied by a resurgent Japan would quickly make cooperation with the US a very attractive option.

Posted by exJAG 2007-01-20 07:06|| 2007-01-20 07:06|| Front Page Top

#5 William Perry is a Democrat (he also served in the Carter administration). William Cohen (a nominal Republican) succeeded him as Secretary of Defense.

Posted by mrp 2007-01-20 08:08|| 2007-01-20 08:08|| Front Page Top

#6 Oops! Thanks, I get these guys mixed up. William Perry, Dem weenie, not be confused with The Fridge.

Posted by exJAG 2007-01-20 08:36|| 2007-01-20 08:36|| Front Page Top

#7 Doh! I made the same mistake. Looking on wikipedia for a picture, I came across this:
Perry adopted "preventive defense" as his guide to national security policy in the post-Cold War world. During the Cold War the United States had relied on deterrence rather than prevention as the central principle of its security strategy. Perry outlined three basic tenets of a preventive strategy: keep threats from emerging; deter those that actually emerged; and if prevention and deterrence failed, defeat the threat with military force.

A pretty grown-up view of foreign affairs for a Clintonista.

Posted by SteveS 2007-01-20 10:39|| 2007-01-20 10:39|| Front Page Top

#8 Worked reeeaaaal well, didn't it?

Posted by Pappy 2007-01-20 20:27|| 2007-01-20 20:27|| Front Page Top

10:13 pioneerrr
23:58 49 Pan
23:45 Unique Battle
23:19 liberalhawk
22:51 Mike N.
22:48 Jackal
22:32 Verlaine
22:22 whatadeal
22:16 trailing wife
22:06 whatadeal
21:52 whatadeal
21:45 whatadeal
21:38 Sneaze Shaiting3550
21:25 Chuck Simmins
21:22 Whiskettes4Hilali
21:11 Mike N.
21:06 49 Pan
21:06 BA
21:02 Free Radical
20:57 RD
20:55 BA
20:51 Xenophon
20:43 BA
20:40 Pappy