By now, we’ve all head or read the story about how North Korea allegedly sank the South Korean patrol boat, the Cheonan. What we do not have so far, is categorical evidence that the North Koreans were involved. What we do know for a fact is that on the night a torpedo-armed North Korean submarine allegedly sank a South Korean patrol ship, the U.S. and South Korea were engaged in joint anti-submarine warfare exercises (an annual U.S.-Korea war games called Key Resolve/Foal Eagle, which are intended to keep forces ready in the event another major war erupts on the Korean Peninsula) just 75 miles away. Given the atrocious history and cases of friendly fire our military has, could it be that this was a case of a practice drill gone bad? Is it possible that our intelligence services were up to one of their old tricks of “turning on one of their own” to leverage a bargaining position vis-a-vis the impending naval base closure or relocation in Japan? Why is it that a “practice drill” that was supposed to prepare us against “all the threats that North Korea can throw at us”, failed to detect “all the threats that North Korea can throw at us” despite the fact that the night before the Cheonan sank, two U.S. destroyers and other ships maneuvered and practiced tracking in the area?
Here’s some line of thought: as someone astutely pointed out, the only piece of evidence offered by the “International” experts are propellers from a North Korean torpedo, one that can be easily obtained on International arms market. There was never any sonar detection of an enemy ship, nor was there any detection of a homing torpedo. No submarines were located in the area immediately following the blast. The Cheonan was operating its active sonar (which emits sounds and listens for the echoes as they bounce off of submerged objects like a submarine) at the time. Do we not find it a bit odd that a 130-ton minisub, without warning, could bring down a warship nine or 10 times its size in the middle of a joint naval drill by “enemy forces”?
Rather than the current saber rattling and the predictable cry for blood from many ignorant people (a quick glance at the comments of folks at various media sites will give you an idea of the level of ignorance out there), maybe we should step back a bit and ask: is it possible that the sinking of the Cheonan may not have been an intentional attack at all, but the act of a rogue commander, an agent provocateur, an accident or an exercise gone wrong?
On the other hand if it does turn out that the North Koreans were responsible, would anyone in their right mind blame them? A good question to ask is this “how would the United States of America react if Cuba and North Korea began regularly practising attacking America, just 75 miles off our coast? One needs to keep repeating this one flaw that may yet do us in as a nation – irresponsible arrogance and the tendency to be blind to reverse reasoning. The reason we give for wanting to “take them out” could easily be the reason for the other side to plot and strategize about taking us out! A lesson we have stubbornly refused to learn.
