Attempt at Gulf of Tonkin V2.0 comes off the rails.

[JohnyCanuck]

Shock wave and bubble: the untruth about the Cheonan

Only a small coterie in the USA and South Korea know for sure what really happened to the South Korean warship. But, unreported in the Western media, the 'proof' that the Cheonan was sunk by North Korea has been thoroughly discredited.

As is often the case following a negotiated outcome, both sides claimed victory. After the final text on the sinking of the South Korean corvette was agreed by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council on 9th July, the Whitehouse issued a statement which asserted:

Today’s UN Security Council Presidential statement condemns the attack by North Korea on the Cheonan and warns North Korea that the international community will not tolerate such aggressive behavior against the Republic of Korea. The unanimous statement, reflecting the shared view of the 5 members of the Six-Party Talks, constitutes an endorsement of the findings of the Joint Investigative Group that established North Korea’s responsibility for the attack.

But the UNSC Presidential statement did no such thing. It did not condemn 'the attack by North Korea' or 'warn North Korea', because it did not name the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as the culprit. And it did not endorse the findings of the Joint Investigative Group which was appointed by the government of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The wording of the statement on this matter was much more cautious:

In view of the findings of the Joint Civilian-Military Investigation Group led by the ROK with the participation of five nations, which concluded that the DPRK was responsible for sinking the Cheonan, the Security Council expresses its deep concern.

Following which, the UNSC statement added:

The Security Council takes note of the responses from other relevant parties, including from the DPRK, which has stated that it had nothing to do with the incident...

The Security Council welcomes the restraint shown by the ROK and stresses the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in northeast Asia as a whole.

snip

As remarked in the latter report, scientists have attacked the JIG team's conclusions as incompatible with the physical evidence; two North American-based academics, Seunghun Lee (Department of Physics, University of Virginia) and J.J. Suh (SAIS, Johns Hopkins University) wrote an article for the Asia-Pacific Journal summarising some of the inconsistencies. The authors accused the JIG of fabricating data and lying about the conduct of the investigation. ........

snip

These findings were picked up by the international science journal Nature, which covered them on 8th July (the article was updated on 14th July). Although the scientific case against the JIG’s conclusion was damning, the writer of the Nature article strove to achieve some balance, by quoting another US expert:

James Schoff, an expert in Asian regional security mechanisms who heads Asia-Pacific studies at the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis in Washington DC, says, “Aside from the science, it is consistent with North Korea’s behaviour in the past. It fits the goal of the conservatives , which is to try to raise awareness of a security threat.”

This doesn’t, however, rule out the possibility that North Korea did sink the ship but that South Korea nonetheless fabricated data to make a stronger case to the United Nations, admits Schoff. It’s possible, for example, that they added the ink, he says. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they added it to make it more convincing. But I have no doubts personally that the conclusion is correct.”

So, the science should be disregarded because sinking a South Korean ship is the kind of thing that it is assumed the DPRK would get up to; and even if the South Korean authorities fabricated the evidence, one should have no doubts that the North Koreans are guilty.

But at least Nature covered the story. Despite the famed ‘freedom of the press’ of the Western world, the scientific refutation of the JIG conclusion has not, so far, been reported in any major English language news publication- and neither have the rest of the facts which de-bunk the case against North Korea.

http://21stcenturysocialism.com/article/shock_wave_and_bubble_the_untruth_about_the_cheonan_02006.html

Perhaps this would be a good time to go to the link included in my sig line below.

[MilesColtrane]

1. Do you really think the U.S. and South Korea want to start a shooting war with the DPRK?

That's the only conclusion I can reach from your headline.

(By the way, every torpedo that explodes underwater is a "bubble jet torpedo".)

[JohnyCanuck]

2. Well in this case using an imaginary attack as propaganda fodder

might not have been intended to start a war, but achieve another strategic goal.

From the article in the OP above:

It is for this reason that, despite its failure at the UN Security Council, the United States has achieved something of a success in terms of public opinion- reinforcing the view of the DPRK as a country with an irrational, dangerous leadership- hence bolstering support for the USA's military presence in the region. In Japan particularly, the the untruth about the Cheonan has had a very useful result in terms of US power and influence. Not only has the United States been enabled to keep its huge military base on the island of Okinawa, it has also got rid of the Japanese leader who dared to defy the USA on this key strategic issue (emphasis added /JC). As ABC news reported on 2nd June:

Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Yatoyama resigned today following a bitter battle over the relocation of a U.S. air base on Okinawa that has dominated domestic headlines for months.

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan scrambled to find a new leader after Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigned Wednesday, apologizing for failing to keep a campaign promise to move a contentious U.S. military base, as his party desperately tried to boost its chances in elections next month. Kan, who has a clean and defiant image, emerged a likely successor.

Hatoyama sided with residents who have long protested the noise and pollution of the Futenma air base, occupied since the end of World War II...

Last week, shortly following South Korea's claim that North Korea torpedoed one of their ships in neighboring water, Tokyo agreed to allow the base to remain on Okinawa.

The about face by the prime minister sent his approval ratings plummeting in Japan...

The last few months of the prime minister's term have been mired in controversy as he fought for Futenma to be moved off the island of Okinawa.

[MilesColtrane]

4. Hmm

Plausible, but stupid given that such a maneuver could touch of a huge war. Of course the U.S. military has done stupid things before.

Given the North's long list of breaches of the armistice agreement though, I'm apt to believe the U.S. and ROK version of events on this one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_border_incidents_involving_North_Korea

[malaise]

3. Don't expect this to make M$Greedia

Remember "Washington Rules".

[On the Road]

5. OK, Countries Sometimes Fabricate Incidents

in order to justify a war. But answer this: if sinking the South Korean sub were a false flag operation, it worked. Everyone believes that the North comitted an act of war.

So why aren't we at war, and why is there is no serious campaign to take us to war?

[Odin2005]

6. This tinfoil BS belings in the Dungeon.

And the author needs the dosage on his antipsychotics upped/

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. This is real amateur conspiracy theory stuff.

The professional conspiracy theorists know the truth- it was East Korea that did it.