Long Range Korean missile aimed at Hawaii.

[Blondy876]

I was horrified to hear they were possibly aiming for Hawaii. My brother is stationed there and his wife and my niece and nephew live there with him. Scary.

 

[Hermosa11]

Gosh!!! my dd & her husband (Army) live there~!
I bet he knows more than he is sharing (his job is actually dealing with Korea in some capacity).
yikes!!! Fox article

 

[Pugdog007]

The dictator tells the people that they are starving because the USA is bombing all of the ships that are carrying rice and other food to their country so they hate us.

The whole situation makes me cry.

This is true. They are also told that the US started the Korean War. That's a communist nation for you. Government controls all information/propaganda coming in or going out. It's sad really.

 

[eclectics]

Lisa loves Pooh, The only news they ever get in that country is from government sanctioned sources. The reason the lights are out is so they can't see to get to South Korea (just my opinion) I think other nations will be shocked when they see how the NKs are really suffering and to the degree of their anguish.

CNN had a wonderfully informative special on what actually goes on in NK behind closed doors, as it were. People do have hidden cameras and are taping things and smuggling it out. Also, things are being smuggled in so some can see what actually is going on in the real world and spreading the word to friends and neighbors. All under the threat of death, of course. Very compelling. I do hope those poor people get to see the light of day in the near future.

 

[GeorgeG]

Back in the 60s there was a movie called "The Mouse That Roared." It was about a small country that was in dire straights and decided to declare war on the United States because they knew we would go in and fix everything after they surrendered. I wonder...

Perhaps we should have several aircraft carriers deployed west of Hawaii just in case. I'm sure we do, but maybe they'll take my old carrier out of mothballs and look for an old crew to man it. If only I could fit in my old uniform...

 

[MrVisible]

Here's the whole story, from this link:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,202469,00.html

Please note that this is referring to a Japanese newspaper which quoted unidentified sources. The Pentagon is saying that the data is inconclusive, and that it might have been headed not for Hawaii, but for space.

I can see how we might get the two confused, what with the bright sunshine and all. But seriously, until this gets confirmed by someone who's willing to go on the record, I think I'll put off panicking for a while.

Report: North Korean Missile Was Aimed at Hawaii
Thursday, July 06, 2006


TOKYO — The long-range Taepodong-2 was part of a barrage of seven missiles test-fired by North Korea on Wednesday. They all fell harmlessly into the Sea of Japan, but South Korean officials said the long-range missile had malfunctioned, suggesting it was intended for a more remote target.

Japan's conservative mainstream daily Sankei said that Japanese and U.S. defense officials have concluded that the Taepodong-2 had targeted the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, after analyzing data collected from their intelligence equipment.

The newspaper quoted unidentified Japanese and U.S. government officials.

The officials decided that the missile was pointed at Hawaii from its angle immediately after launch and the altitude it reached, after analyzing data collected by destroyers equipped with the Aegis radar combat system and RC-135S electronic reconnaissance aircraft, the newspaper said.

It said the findings support a belief North Korean intended the launch as a protest over U.S. economic sanctions against the isolated regime.

But Pentagon officials said Thursday that the brief flight of the Taepodong-2 missile made it difficult to collect useful technical data, including its intended target, its payload and whether it was a two-stage or three-stage missile.

Some U.S. officials were even leaning toward the theory that it was configured as a space launch to deliver a satellite into orbit, rather than as a flight test of a ballistic missile.

Japanese Defense Agency refused to confirm the Sankei report.

The Taepodong-2, North Korea's most advanced missile, has a range of up to 9,300 miles and believed capable of reaching parts of the United States with a light payload.

Hawaii is about 4,350 miles southwest of North Korea.

The daily said it was not immediately known why Hawaii was targeted, but added that analysts believe Pyongyang might have tried to demonstrate that the missile could reach the United States, or because Hawaii is home to the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

North Korea might have avoided targeting Alaska because of a risk that the missile could mistakenly hit a land area in that route, the report said.

 

[luvthatduke]

NK's evil dictator lives in luxury, has for years,
while the people and their children eat grass and tree bark.
Tragically, the eating of the tree bark merely prolongs
their suffering with a slower and much more painful death,
due to the onset of complications in the human digestive system
when forced to eat the bark.
As you can imagine, parents encourage their children
to eat anything and everything, not knowing the children
will have even worse complications because of the immaturity of their organs.

 

[DawnCt1]

It says "waters near Hawaii" in the reuters article. I dont think they know for sure.

Considering that the "waters near Hawaii" is home to the US Pacific Fleet, and considering we have the Barking Sands Missile Range on Kauai, I would say we are getting some kind of message from Dr. Strangelove.

 

[beachbunny]

Such an absolute nut job. He's got a country full of starving people and all he can think about is killing Americans? (To find out what a real nut case he is, do some research on his film career - he's starred in more movies than John Wayne).

Well, I guess my Hawaiian beach house isn't looking too great right about now is it?

 

[Nanoer]

Well we can always just knock up to 6 of them out of the sky before they get near the coast. It's called Advanced Defensive Anti-Missile Sytem Whose Name Is Made Up or ADAMSWNISMU for short.

This does exist I just forgot it's real name...

 

[Laura]

But seriously, until this gets confirmed by someone who's willing to go on the record, I think I'll put off panicking for a while.

Unfortunately, with the missile being a dud, it's hard to get info about its intended destination.

It's funny, though, the missile has a range long enough to hit Alaska (if it actually worked). Nobody on this thread thought about the places in between before?

 

[salmoneous]

Oh for Pete's sake. Look, I'm not saying that the whole NK situation isn't scary, but I don't see why *this* story is something to get worked up about. Remember

1) We are talking about a missile that had no warhead that we know about
2) We are talking about a missile that doesn't work - and that previous versions don't work
3) We are talking about an unconfirmed story.
4) We are talking about "Hawaii" which is *huge*. I hate the way the press reports things like "capable of reaching the United States" when then mean some uninhabited tiny island in the Pacific 1000 miles away from any city.

If you want to worry, worry about the people of South Korea, Japan or our troops stationed there. No reason to worry for the bathers on Waikiki yet.

 

[ILUVMYBRIT]

Oh for Pete's sake. Look, I'm not saying that the whole NK situation isn't scary, but I don't see why *this* story is something to get worked up about. Remember

1) We are talking about a missile that had no warhead that we know about
2) We are talking about a missile that doesn't work - and that previous versions don't work
3) We are talking about an unconfirmed story.
4) We are talking about "Hawaii" which is *huge*. I hate the way the press reports things like "capable of reaching the United States" when then mean some uninhabited tiny island in the Pacific 1000 miles away from any city.

If you want to worry, worry about the people of South Korea, Japan or our troops stationed there. No reason to worry for the bathers on Waikiki yet.

 

[DawnCt1]

If you want to worry, worry about the people of South Korea, Japan or our troops stationed there. No reason to worry for the bathers on Waikiki yet.

I don't think anyone is "worried" that Hawaii is under imminent threat. The "worry" is about the message that the "lunatic in charge" is sending to the United States and the world. He is a ruler who rules by "extortion". A wild eyed, out of control teenager who stomps his feet and demands the car keys or else!

 

[Charade]

NK's evil dictator lives in luxury, has for years,
while the people and their children eat grass and tree bark.
Tragically, the eating of the tree bark merely prolongs
their suffering with a slower and much more painful death,
due to the onset of complications in the human digestive system
when forced to eat the bark.
As you can imagine, parents encourage their children
to eat anything and everything, not knowing the children
will have even worse complications because of the immaturity of their organs.

He (reportedly)spends $750,000 a year in Cognac alone.

 

[DawnCt1]

He (reportedly)spends $750,000 a year in Cognac alone.

Lets hope he gets cirrhosis and dies.

 

[Laz]

True, this guy is a wack-job looking for attention. He wants to to be a big time player by trying to force the US into direct talks with him while his people wait by the docks to pick up the spilled pieces of rice that fall when they unload the bags from the ships. His manual for launching missles is:

"LIGHT FUSE, GET AWAY! DO NOT HOLD IN HAND!"

However, I would like to propose the idea that China is secretly encouraging these launches to see the US military reponse. I found this article in the Washington Post:

http://www.washtimes.com/national/inring.htm

True, most of the article talks about failure on behalf of the Chinese, but one statement says a lot:

Worse, some officials say, it is likely Beijing deceived the United States about its efforts to dissuade North Korea from the apparent tests and that China may have tacitly backed the seven missile launches earlier this week.

What do my fellow DISers think?

 

[mickeyfan2]

What do my fellow DISers think?

I do not trust china and do believe they could have encouraged this from NK.

 

[imadisneyholic]

What do my fellow DISers think?

It doesn't surprise me.

 

[Laura]

Yeah, it wouldn't shock me if that turned out to be true.