----- Original Message -----
From: "J. van Baardwijk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Brin-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, August 13, 2001 4:58 PM
Subject: Re: Landmines RE: US Foreign Policy Re: *DO* we share a
civilization?
> At 15:44 13-8-01 -0500, Dan Minette wrote:
>
> >OK, since you know the folks involved, let me ask you about how this
bears
> >on Korea. Why doesn't this show that we only need a few tank companies
to
> >stop all the North Korean tanks? Are North Korean tanks that much better
> >than those from Iraq? Is the difference in terrain important?
>
> The difference in terrain is definitely important. Let a few tanks
> companies move around in thousands of square kilometers of desert, and
then
> let them try to do that again in the relatively small space of a mountain
> pass. Notice the difference?
>
> You really don't want a few tank companies to stop all North Korean tanks.
> First, the terrain is less than ideal for tank movements. Second, when you
> combine "smart weapons" such as BAT gliders with targeting aircraft, you
> can destroy North Korean tank columns long before they even reach the
> border, and long before they get within firing range of your tanks.
Are you suggesting that the US destroy tanks when North Korea engages in war
games and maneuvers? We haven't been doing that. Their tanks are mostly
within a few miles of the border, now. How can you tell the difference
between tanks that are going towards the border and then will turn away at
the last minute as part of war games, and those that will keep on going
across the border?
Further, if it is that easy to destroy tanks from the air, why didn't the US
need its tanks to fight the tanks from Iraq in the Gulf War? They had,
IIRC, a 2 month air campaign before the ground troops moved in. Here, we
are talking about hours. The US doesn't have that many planes in Korea; it
would have to scramble them from near by bases. I cannot imagine most of
the tanks going out in the first wave of air attacks by the US.
Dan M.
