July 3rd, 2002
On July 2nd, a US spy plane flew over North Korea. The plane captured on film what appeared to be a large movement of North Korean soldiers and armored vehicles toward the DMZ line. These pictures are sent to the Pentagon and it is confirmed that these pictures do depict a large movement of North Korean forces. Having forces near the DMZ is not unusual, both sides do it, however the amount North Korea is placing, along with the positioning of it’s naval forces in the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan.
President Cheney is alerted to these developments and calls for an emergency meeting between himself, the Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard B. Myers, Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet, and several other advisors.
The topic of this meeting was what to do about the mobilization of North Korean forces. It seems that an attack by North Korea is eminent. After the naval clashes between North Korea and South Korea on June 29th Kim Jong-il threatened war. This too is not unusual, but the amount of effort being put into this mobilization is alarming. It is known that North Korea has a nuclear weapons program, though they haven’t successfully detonated one as of yet.
National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice advises President Cheney to prepare an attack on North Korea. “North Korea is a State Sponsor of terror. They have a nuclear weapons program that threatens the region, the country, and the world”.
Secretary of State Colin Powell responds “We can’t ignore this, but war would be a mistake. If we attack North Korea China will have no choice but to respond. Not to mention the international backlash. We need to neutralize China by having them condemn any North Korean attack”.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates responds “We should mobilize our forces in Korea and threaten counter attack., and position our ships in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow sea for air strikes against their vital targets.”
After President Cheney listens to all of those who had something to say he was left with 3 options: Condoleezza’s attack first, Colin Powell’s diplomatic pressure, and Robert Gates’ threat of force. He sat at his desk quietly contemplating the options. After several minutes he made his decision.
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Well, now I leave it up to you what will happen. Which option will Cheney choose. To attack North Korea, use diplomatic pressure to isolate Korea, or use a threat of force? You can have an impact on my timeline,
Blood Stained Carpet and the Pretzel of Death.
Here's a link to the timeline's thread
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164890