Unusual and rare,....

GTC

The entire U.S. Senate has been invited to the White House for a briefing Wednesday on the North Korea situation, amid escalating tensions over the country’s missile tests and bellicose rhetoric.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer confirmed the upcoming briefing, for all 100 senators, on Monday.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats plan to provide the update to lawmakers.

It is rare for the entire Senate to be invited to such a briefing.

Spicer clarified that while the event will take place on the White House campus, it is technically a Senate briefing and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is the one who convened it.

The briefing, first reported by Reuters, was confirmed after President Trump earlier spoke to the leaders of both China and Japan.

Trump spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Xi told Trump that China strongly opposed North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and hoped “all parties will exercise restraint and avoid aggravating the situation,” according to Chinese broadcaster CCTV. Trump hopes China could increase pressure on its isolated ally instead of using military options or trying to overthrow Kim Jong Un’s regime.

Trump and Abe agreed to urge North Korea to refrain from provocative actions.

Meanwhile, U.S. commercial satellite images indicated increased activity around North Korea’s nuclear test site, while Kim has said that the country’s preparation for an ICBM launch is in its “final stage.”

South Korea’s Defense Ministry has said the North appears ready to conduct such "strategic provocations" at any time. South Korean Acting Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has instructed his military to strengthen its "immediate response posture" in case North Korea does something significant on the April 25 anniversary of its military. North Korea often marks significant dates by displaying military capability.

On Monday, Trump also had lunch with ambassadors of countries on the U.N. Security Council. Ahead of the meeting, Trump called for “big reforms” at the U.N. and criticizing its handling of recent events in Syria and North Korea – but said it has “tremendous potential.”

"You just don't see the United Nations, like, solving conflicts. I think that's going to start happening now," he said.


Link: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...hite-house-for-north-korea-briefing.html

Letting them in on the real intelligence on NK.

They may not sleep as well tonight...

What are the Vegas odds ?

From the other side of the pond.....

Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39694640

North Korea nuclear: White House calls Senate to briefing


In an unusual move, the entire US Senate is being called to the White House for a briefing on North Korea.
Washington has become increasingly concerned at North Korean missile and nuclear tests and threats to its neighbours and the US.
The briefing, involving 100 senators as well as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary James Mattis, is being held on Wednesday.
China, North Korea's main ally, has called for restraint from all sides.
China's call came in a phone conversation between President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump on Sunday.
Mr Xi urged all parties to "maintain restraint and avoid actions that would increase tensions", according to the Chinese foreign ministry.
Why Beijing should lead on North Korean crisis
For his part, Mr Trump said North Korea's "continued belligerence" was destabilising the Korean peninsula.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph Dunford, will be among those briefing the senators
White House officials regularly go to Congress to brief on national security matters, but it is unusual for the whole Senate to go to the White House.
Alongside Mr Tillerson and Gen Mattis will be National Intelligence Director Dan Coats and Gen Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Questioned by reporters at his regular briefing, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer referred further inquiries to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell.
Aides, quoted by Reuters, say the House of Representatives is seeking a similar briefing on North Korea.
A U2 spy plane deploys from South Korea as the US monitors activity in the North, 24 April 2017Image copyrightEPA

Washington says a flotilla, led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, is expected to arrive off the peninsula within days, despite conflicting messages last week on its exact whereabouts.
Mr Trump has also told United Nations Security Council ambassadors, meeting at the White House, that the UN must be ready to impose new sanctions on North Korea.
The US is pursuing a multi-pronged strategy to make its point on North Korea, the BBC's Gary O'Donoghue in Washington says.
First it wants the UN to tighten sanctions even further, and to ensure those in place are properly enforced.
Secondly, it is attempting to put fresh pressure on China to rein in its communist neighbour. The third aspect is the sending of an aircraft carrier to the Korean peninsula - making clear military action is an option.
North Korean rhetoric
North Korean state media said on Sunday the country's forces were "combat-ready to sink" the Carl Vinson.
The ruling Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun called the carrier a "gross animal".
North Korea has promised to press ahead with missile tests despite Mr Trump's warnings and experts say it may be preparing for another nuclear test, in defiance of UN resolutions.
However, a North Korean ballistic missile test on 16 April failed within seconds of launch, US experts said.
Washington is concerned that Pyongyang may develop the ability to place a nuclear bomb on a missile capable of reaching the US.
Beijing is worried about the possibility of all-out conflict on the peninsula, which could lead to the collapse of the North Korean regime under its mercurial leader Kim Jong-un.
China fears this could cause a sizeable refugee problem and lead to an American presence up to the Chinese border.
North Korea 'detains American citizen'
What can the outside world do about N Korea?
Timeline of recent tensions
8 April: The US military orders a navy strike group to move towards the Korean peninsula
11 April: North Korea says it will defend itself "by powerful force of arms"
15 April: North Korea puts on a huge military parade - complete with missiles - to mark 105th birthday of the nation's founding president, Kim Il-sung. Meanwhile US Vice-President Mike Pence arrives in South Korea
16 April: North Korea conducts a rocket test, but it fails
17 April: Senior North Korean official tells the BBC the country will continue to test missiles "weekly" and Mr Pence warns North Korea not to "test" Donald Trump
18 April: It emerges the US Navy strike group was not heading towards North Korea when US officials suggested it was
22 April: US Vice-President Mike Pence says the group will arrive off the Korean peninsula "within days".
23 April: North Korea says it is "ready to sink" the US aircraft carrier

Just reflecting on the "Security" level at which this will be conducted. Assuming that some of the material will probably be of a confidential nature, ....one has to wonder about the current and chronic leaky condition of our ship of state.

Also wondering about how many of the Senators will be to busy with more important business,....or skip out as =some sorta' bizarre, "statement".

GTC

I'm sure the stock market's gonna like this in the morning.

It takes a long time for our Navy to get there.

Better deploy them now.

Their head of state idiot just made a direct threat to destroy the one on it's way.

I wonder in what dream world does he imagine winning this?

Crazy sumbiotch.

Having been a weapons officer in the Navy, I have pretty high confidence in our systems and people, but if you have a nuke, it doesn't have to be launched far and it doesn't even need to be all that accurate to do serious damage to a group of ships. If the schit is about to hit the fan, they may try to unplug the fan before it spreads schit everywhere. Whatever happens, this doesn't seem good.

Trump's continues turning up the heat on Kim Jong Un in a prolonged bluff calling. Kim is forced to perform up to the level of his rhetoric or loose face. I'm reminded of My Cousin Vinnie and the redneck who challenges Joe Pesci's character to a fight over the $200 dollar wager he lost to Marisa Tomei in a game of pool. Pesci's character refused to fight until the redneck comes up with the $200.

Sure didn't seem to bother it today!! And they knew about it hours ago.

Meanwhile:


Leaders from the Five Eyes intelligence network will be meeting in New Zealand this weekend.

Officials from the world's largest spy network - made up of the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand - will meet in Arrowtown, near Queenstown, where a massive security operation is underway.

Government officials are refusing to confirm details or provide names, but police confirmed no former head of state would be visiting, after the rumour mill tipped the visitor could be Barack Obama, with Microsoft founder Bill Gates' name also put into the mix.

Should have kicked their azz years ago would have been much easier.This will certainly be a blood bath for both sides even if its short lived.

We don't need a nuke war, Trump is just filling in the blanks for the 100 senators...if he has to make a move, they had better play ball.

If the shooting starts, it's going to be ugly.

Living in interesting times..

I have a friend who was in N. Korea delivering a ship full of Aid, wheat, IIRC. This is going on five years ago, now. He was in port long enough to unload the ship. He and his crew did a little trading with the N. Koreans operating the port—Hershey Bars, hand tools, canned food, simple little stuff. They were under strict orders from the North Koreans to not leave the ship, to not take photographs of the port, and were under constant guard, etc. Conditions were abysmal. The population is literally starving, the crude equipment they had was mostly nonfunctional. This guy has been all over the world, from delivering ships to India and Africa to be cut up for scrap by torch wielding laborers in flip flops, to the Middle East, to China, Scandinavia, to Eastern Europe and South America. He was shocked by the conditions in N Korea and described them as like nothing he'd seen anywhere. This regime is on the edge, if they've truly lost the support of China, they're in a real pickle.

That's what makes this so scary. The little twerp has nothing to lose or gain with a single mission in mind.

He certainly does not care about himself or his people. Sad!

hard going up against someone who has "nothing to lose" when you do have something to lose.....

In the past, it has not been PC to be allowed to "win" a war.

That cannot be the case with NOKO. If we leave enough of them to climb up out of the rubble, it'll start all over again.

I don't think that'll be allowed to happen this time around. We've got 60 years a failed policies to allow another hermit kingdom.

The north has nothing to lose and everything to gain by toppling fatboy. Once the place has been sufficiently secured and international aid comes streaming in, the lights will come on, literally and figuratively. The survivors won't go back to scrounging grass for dinner.

Most definitely interesting times..Our nuclear deterrent has seemingly run its course rendering a possible tit for tat scenario if the North actually has a weapon or weapons.

Those of you ever deployed to the peninsula know all to well our forward AFB's are most vulnerable and just minutes of flying time away from disaster.Having been there myself hope the powers that be have their thinking caps on to prevent a Nork first strike sucker punch.

Been missing your posts somehow Woody..good to see you!

He definitely doesn't care about his people. I think he craves absolute power above all else, but I don't think he's nuts. His actions mirror every other little dictator I can remember seeing film of, Kadaffi, Noriega, Hussein, Castro, Ayatollah Assaholla etc. They all say and do the same "crazy" things in front of their people.

But I think he's got everything to lose. While he appears Crazy, it's all a show to put on the national TV to rally his cause.

The guy went to school in Switzerland, he knows what's up. Right now he's King of the Universe in North Korea, the Koreans actually pray to the Kim Jong family. If he loses, he will have nothing. I believe he realizes this and will not risk giving up his dictatorship.

When 25% of your population is directly linked to the military, it's important to put on a good show, and keep the funding going to the right place, otherwise they'll collapse.

I'll be surprised if he doesn't cave at the last minute..

Thanks Tom, took a little CF vacation was refreshing and got a bunch of honey do projects completed.

The little twerp has everything to loose. There's a vast disparity between Kim's reality and the reality of 99% of N. Koreans. Kim's so deluded by his rearing, education and conditioning that he's ill prepared to anticipate his own weaknesses. This is further compounded by how the regime has fundamental undermined its minion's reporting function. Kim has wholly overvalued his military and industrial strength. Trump's turning up the heat compels Kim to simultaneously push his regime's military/industrial and political capabilities beyond their capacity toward inevitable failure and collapse. Trump's plan is to continue to dictate the pace. The bet is that Kim never comes up with the $200 and manifests his own demise willst trying.

Not to mention the whole psychopath thing.

I sure hope you guys are right because he has to know that if he does this he will die. One way or another he will lose. Surely he knows that.

Even remotely knows..... Just not convinced he values life at all.

That's a dangerous game, never push a rabid dog into a corner...just shoot him in the head.

Thinking that will and likely should happen regardless.

There's no better blinder for mortality than youth and inexperience. I doubt death is even peripherally on Kim's radar. His minions/advisors on the other hand, it's all they think about, but they're painted into a corner and have always been painted into that same corner.

My bet is that the first missile has his name all over it.

If nobody else is killed, he needs to be the one to go.

I hope you're right, his people hate him...fear his wrath, he is the only one that needs to meet his maker.

Kim's not a rabid dog. He's a young dictator who overestimates his regime's strength, the feedback he's getting about the condition and capability of his military and industrial capacity, and his own immortality.

The problem is that this is conditioned behavior. All throughout the Clinton years, and the Bush years and the Obama years, these guys have flaunted, and threatened our country and what did it get them? Usually a payoff of some sort- all carrot and no stick. So, he's just doing what has always worked for them in the past. He's operating under the normalcy bias. Well, there's nothing normal about Trump. If nothing else, I know that much.

He and his top generals anyway. The captives that are the North Korean citizens have suffered enough.

I'd sure hate to be one of the Americans held by the regime as their clock is ticking down.

He's dangerous because of his ignorance.

Very dangerous.

Exactly, bluff, bluff, bluff, get a cookie. The difference here is N. Korea's been forced to up the ante of their bluff beyond their capability.

The last thing I would want to see is a war over there. What I can offer is that the Korean Peninsula scenario has been war-gamed many times from about 20 different directions. I was part of one a few years back. There were generals and admirals all the way down to the typical weapons officer on a navy ship kind of guy (me). It's hard to imagine a scenario that doesn't get messy, but a lot of thought has gone into it.

Nobody is forcing them.

His own arrogance and mouth are writing checks his ass can't cash.

How about a Days of Tunder metaphor. When Robert Duvall's character is asked if he thought Tom Cruise's character could drive, he said, "Oh he can drive. He can drive beyond the limits of the tires, the engine, the car or anything else." This is what we're shooting for. We're in a tough situation with N. Korea that's got to be dealt with. Trump's play has a built in upside, where we could get out of this by only loosing the driver and the car with minimal collateral damage to the track. In this context, Kim, the regime, and N. Korea, respectively. With any luck it will happen during practice and no other competing drivers will be involved.

If I'm reading you right then we have options....pretty sure that's the purpose of this meeting.

Option 2 after even more peaceful attempts:

ST6 at the ready! Just get it over with. Let those who are pissed (all 2 of them) be pissed.

IOW just get rid of the biggest sponsor on the car. There are many other pizza makers!!

But for sure no more can kicking!!

Agreed, by "forced" I meant, circumstances compell.

Those circumstances include, but are not limited to: China refusing coal shipments, the USN moving a small fleet into the area, escalated training of S. Korean defenses along boarder, China moving 150,000 troops to buttress its boarder with N. Korea. the US electing a President with an unorthodox, characteristically unpredictable, and ballsy style, the US deviating from decades old N. Korean policy that rewarded strong rhetoric and threatful tantrums, ...

Wednesday should compell Kim keep his foot on the gas pedal.

A family member worked in S. Korea a lot, along the DMZ....one might say extensively, some years back.

The now decades old, hardened fortifications dug deeply dug in to the steep,rugged,complex geology immediately N. of the line has got to represent a very troubling challenge to the good folks tasked with keeping hellfire and destruction up there,.....
If the balloon goes up, I would imagine that we'll see a whole lot of bomb and missile strikes focused on that area.

Indeed a troubling scenario.

GTC

Sounds like MOAB territory, but that whole thing should be a ruse.

The problem is we're running out of time. As soon as he can reach America with a nuke he's safe. It's a race to see if we can topple him without destroying South Korea and Japan before he reaches his safe zone of being able to destroy large west coast cities.

It was on the news last week.

The neocons are trying to get Trump to goad the fat boy into nuking the U.S.

The fuggin' chit has gotten ridiculous fast.

A lot of Americans are gonna get the lard rendered out of them if somebody doesn't get a handle on them crazy bastards who call the shots.

I thought Trump might be able to do it,...but he's done let them turn him into a limp dick.

Kim has everything to lose as far as hes concerned. Kim could lose Kim.

Nothing against women, but this rings of feminine hysteria.

Einstein cheated on his wife and boned his cousin, whom he later married. Then he cheated on his cousin/wife, with his secretary.

Do we do it now, unless he backs down, or wait until he takes out SanFran and Los Angeles?

Now thats a hard decision.

He ought to know then shouldn't he?

Are you foreshadowing an avatar change?

Lyin' bitches.

N Korea lost 40% of its GDP with lost coal sales. Them folks are going to make for thin targets.

Now that's funny.

So it's true....all things ARE relative.....

It would be interesting to have heard this conversation.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...aint-over-north-korea-in-call-with-trump

LOL

That's funny on about 3 levels. Wonder how many people catch it?

LOL

Hopefully Trump's been briefed by Groom Lake resident brainiacs or has privy to Star Wars hardware from Skunk Works geniuses who'd love to see Norks on the receiving end of some of their new toys. It's way past time for Black Project funding to show itself again.

A sustained simultaneous EMP attack from land,sea and air would most likely render next to all software useless and their command and control neutralized.

Wishful thinking? Not at all I'm confident we have the means to accomplish this task without firing one bullet.

I should go down there with my REDSKINS injun war drum!!

Y'all wanna' see me on the 11PM news?

Maybe, I could make the first 100 days!!

Agreed!

I'd say you're onto something there.

....and we damn sure have POURED a staggering amount of treasure into black projects now for a LONG time, without seeing a whole lotta' payoff, out in the field.

GTC

The masses will be starving in short order, only the people are losing right now...Little Kim ain't missing no meals, trust me.

I'd almost give my left nutt to know that annual price tag!

Nope,....dunno what you mean by ruse, but the hardened underground fortresses I'm writing about are not caves fulla goat herders. They are more like something out of Star Wars or Dune,...and the Russians, Chinese, and Our team have known a LOT about them for a VERY long time.
Older doctrine about a big brawl at the DMZ involved a pretty good sized slug of "Geological Warfare",....e.g., How many Megatons of energy Nuke or non ), on exactly which fault line / geosyncline will it take to close this pass,....shut down this or that underground missile / artillery complex, command center, and so on. ?

GTC

Re: Ruse
The use of the MOAB in Syria.

+1

Syria ?

....musta' missed that one.

GTC

I have a feeling that the little fat bastard with the bad hair cut is going to quietly disappear to join his father and grand father and another Chinese puppet will take his place.. The people won't miss him at all..

I'm wondering why just the Senate, and not some House Leadership as well.

I do not believe his brain works this way. He is, after all, a god. Don't all the school kids in his nation pray to him?

It is his destiny to deliver the world (especialky S Korea) from the evil which is the USA and Japan.

I am afraid it will be the USA's job to free Kim of his dellusions. Personally, I would rather see China shoulder this burden.

The entire U.S. Senate was to be at the Whitehouse today, some hours ago, actually, for a briefing by State and Defence.

If this show went down to day, it's getting VERY little
discussion on what pass for the airwaves here.

Does anyone have a heads up ?

GTC

In matters of war, and risking soldiers lives...no leaks had better take place from within the government, stupid schmucks had better keep tight lips on this one.

Lil' Kim had them on the beach head yesterday.

Nothing like putting all your eggs in one basket.

It would be damned refreshing to heartily believe that "Unnamed Sources" won't be leaking , per usual.

Benghazi and other recent losses are just to damned fresh in my mind for that to be the case.

GTC

It will take a lot more than that to stop the US military if they choose to attack, we could splatter that in 2 minutes flat.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/0...er-look-militarys-fake-capabilities.html

The dudes have dillddo's on their guns ?, fugg they don't stand a chance against US fighting men.

Just dayum.....ARC LIGHT! ARC LIGHT!

Rockettes with dil-dos.

How about the fake night vision...

Them boys don't want any of Mr.T's wrath if he decides to send it, they best start running now with a head start.

Not sure where the loose lips are, but they are treasonous in my opinion....this chit is going to get real, and fast.

Kim's audience is his own people. We can't let him off the hook. We've got to keep his foot on the BS train's gas pedal.

President Trump will not put up with it like the past Presidents.

Where did this Pic come from
It looks to me that the artillery in the back of the Pic are on fire and burning up.

They ran out of flags for the rest of the armored division.

Yeah. Just dont brang them freaking ass suckin redskins.

I'm hoping China will rein in it's evil little step-child.
I also believe the US can (and is) apply enough pressure - monetarily, politically, and militarily, to convince their leaders that it's best to "just get along".

This latest NK "leader' seems to be the result of a series of demented people, who seem to be becoming more demented with the passage of each generation. Could inbreeding be involved?

With a country that has isolated itself and its leaders for years, inbreeding is always suspect.

I hope you're right, and hope Lil' Kim is just bluffing...we don't need another war, and S.Korea will take a hammering first.

Large target?

I'd love to see about 5 Warthogs in a line abreast shooting about 20,000 30mm rounds into that scene in about 10 seconds.