Trump botches North Korea tweet

Posted by | January 3, 2017 09:28 | Filed under: News Behaving Badly Politics War & Peace

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It started yesterday, when the publicity-hungry president-to-be took to Twitter to proclaim:


The Hill reports:

The comment comes in response to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who said Sunday that Pyongyang plans to test an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time, according to The New York Times.

North Korea has repeatedly threatened to attack the U.S. with nuclear weapons, but has never flight-tested an ICBM.
Pyongyang has conducted five nuclear tests in the past decade and conducted more than 20 ballistic missile tests in 2016 alone, according to the Times report.

On Monday, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) called on Trump to make North Korea a top priority when he assumes office this month.

And the compulsively tweeting reality show host seems not to have a full grasp of the facts:

Here’s a look at how close North Korea may already be to proving Trump’s tweet wrong:
___
THE NUKES
There’s a general consensus that Pyongyang has made significant nuclear and missile progress under Kim, who took over after his father, Kim Jong Il, died in late 2011.
Some U.S. experts believe North Korea may have enough fuel for about 20 bombs and can add a possible half dozen more each year. …
Each new nuclear test… pushes the North another big step toward its goal of an arsenal of nuclear missiles capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.
THE MISSILES
Outsiders don’t know for sure whether North Korea can arm any of its ballistic missiles, regardless of range, with nuclear warheads yet.
But Siegfried Hecker, a leading North Korea nuclear expert, wrote after last year’s September nuclear test that outsiders should now assume that Pyongyang has “designed and demonstrated” atomic warheads that can be placed on short- and possibly medium-range missiles.
North Korea may deploy a “working, nuclear-tipped ballistic missile” by 2020, according to another expert, Euan Graham, director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute.
North Korea has an arsenal of short-range Scuds and mid-range Rodong missiles, and some South Korean experts believe those can already be armed with nukes.
That would put in danger the roughly 28,000 U.S. forces in South Korea and another 50,000 in Japan.
…
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
Even if North Korea can fit a nuclear weapon on a missile, it has yet to meet the even greater challenge of building a nuclear-tipped ICBM capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.
Since 2012, North Korea has conducted three satellite launches using long-range rockets, in what outsiders consider covers for banned tests of ICBM technology.
As with the nuclear detonations, each new rocket test puts the North closer to having a nuclear missile that can target the U.S. mainland. Hecker estimates that it may take North Korea five to 10 years to succeed.

Needless to say, Twitter’s more well-informed denizens replied forcefully to The Donald:


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Copyright 2017 Liberaland
By: dave-dr-gonzo

David Hirsch, a.k.a. Dave "Doctor" Gonzo*, is a renegade record producer, video producer, writer, reformed corporate shill, and still-registered lobbyist for non-one-percenter performing artists and musicians. He lives in a heavily fortified compound in one of Manhattan's less trendy neighborhoods.

* Hirsch is the third person to use the pseudonym, a not-so-veiled tribute to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, with the permission of his predecessors Gene Gaudette of American Politics Journal (currently webmaster and chief bottlewasher at Liberaland) and Stephen Meese at Smashmouth Politics.

32 responses to Trump botches North Korea tweet

  1. anothertoothpick January 3rd, 2017 at 10:07

    SURVEY SAYS!

    . https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9e53909197d5d79a5f8da1f228269366e9e44d55410cc55192bdb4ef0e7f96ab.gif

  2. William January 3rd, 2017 at 10:19

    Add it to the list. At least this time he consulted spell check. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/149baa5495c123fb0f18ca2a10fcc9b363eaa009803cfd3caa0484062b3d1bac.png

  3. William January 3rd, 2017 at 10:45

    Maybe if the intelligence community got sock puppets and women in short skirts, Cheeto-Hitler might attend some briefings https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8681a1c43c251d80e8f05f85f8d99ba0d87c18d953623d1bf2d673877a390986.jpg .

  4. oldfart January 3rd, 2017 at 10:50

    Doesn’t he have something better to do…
    Like plan his inauguration entertainment line up ?

  5. eyelashviper January 3rd, 2017 at 11:50

    GM stocks falling thanks to tRump tweets. How much damage and how many international incidents can he cause before even being sworn in? More than two weeks to go, so much to do…

  6. Foundryman January 3rd, 2017 at 12:38

    How awesome is it that Trump actually read something in the NYTimes? I mean, something this big you would think he would have gotten a red phone call from Vlad or a tweet from Jonesy over at Info-Wars!!

  7. robert January 3rd, 2017 at 13:21

    I thought McCain was a few cards short of a deck and it looks like pence is in competition

  8. ValianThor January 3rd, 2017 at 16:52

    Nice photoshop of Kim Jung Trump, whoever did it!

    • mistlesuede January 3rd, 2017 at 17:33

      That’s Kim Jung Adolph Vladimir Trump.

      • granpa.usthai January 3rd, 2017 at 22:54

        I was thinking more on the line of fuhrer czar d leader of the new trump government.

  9. anothertoothpick January 3rd, 2017 at 18:13

    Apparently the Dear Leader
    hates pumpkin head as much as the vast majority of Americans.

  10. Willys41 January 3rd, 2017 at 18:27

    The idiot’s tweet isn’t even clear about what’s not going to happen: they won’t develop the missile or the missile just magically won’t reach the US if fired.

    • Mensa Member January 4th, 2017 at 10:07

      Trump’s arms control plan is “fantastic.”

      That’s as much as you’re getting from this half-wit.

      • nastythinkingwomanmillstone January 4th, 2017 at 10:24

        Half wit? You’re too generous.

  11. granpa.usthai January 3rd, 2017 at 22:50

    The first thing trump needs to do is pass the appropriate pay for military personnel.

    the basic recruit should be receiving no less that the highest paid federal employee’s total package.

    this can be done 2 ways:

    1. each member of the military receive as much as the highest paid federal employee’s total package.

    2. each employee of the federal government receives no more than the total package of the basic recruit.

    legislators who truly value the service of the military will be very happy to support appropriate pay for military personnel.

    legislators who do not may vote against appropriate pay for military personnel ~ hopefully to their own demise.

    those who are prepared to sacrifice the most for this new government of trump SHOULD receive the greater financial rewards, or at the very least as much.

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