Maybe this is just the ignorant observation of a civilian, but what role does the United States Army have in a war against a nuclear-armed psychopath? We will be withdrawing from the Korean Peninsula in a pretty gradual fashion, but those who are there now are facing potential devastation that they have no means to combat.
There are only three solutions to the North Korean problem: some sort of unprecedented diplomatic overture that rips the roof of the regime there; a coup that does the same; or an overwhelming and simultaneous pre-emptive strike that leaves them broken beyond repair. The Army may have some role to play in the third option, but the sacrifices our men would have to make would dwarf those of our forces in Iraq.
Those who criticize the President for not tending to Kim first are fools who have no plan in mind, but satisfy themselves with the observation that North Korea is the more immediate danger. Yet, if they can't tolerate the losses we have suffered in Iraq, why should anyone believe that they could tolerate the greater losses we would see against North Korea?
Once again, Bush is charged with fixing the mistakes of his incompetent predecessor by a crowd of amnesiac idiots. What a surprise.