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| Korea |
| South Korea May Send Troops to Iraq, but at a price |
| 2003-10-08 |
| EFL and Registration needed With the Bush administration pressing South Korea to send up to 5,000 combat troops to Iraq, South Korea’s president is setting a price: progress by Washington in reducing tensions with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program. "I fear that if we decide to go ahead and send troops, it would not help achieve the second round of six-way talks over North Korea’s nuclear program, or an agreement to be reached," President Roh Moo-Hyun said last Friday, the latest of a series of statements linking a dispatch of troops to Iraq to defusing tensions with North Korea. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is to visit here on Oct. 24, and newspaper analysts see that visit as a move by the Americans to press Mr. Roh to make a public decision by that date. "The U.S. wants us to replace the 101st Airborne Division based in Mosul," in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Cha Young-Koo, deputy defense minister, told reporters here last Thursday. "The division plans to leave the region between February and March." With other countries that have agreed to send troops to Iraq asking for foreign aid or free trade pacts, South Korea believes it can win a more pragmatic, results-oriented American approach to the one-year-old nuclear standoff with North Korea. "Before making any decision on the troop dispatch, it is extremely important to arrive at a positive outlook for and conviction in peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," Mr. Roh said here in a speech last Wednesday, Armed Forces Day in South Korea. "More than anything, a stable atmosphere of dialogue should be promoted so that it will lead to a conviction that the North’s nuclear issue can, indeed, be resolved peacefully." On Saturday, a 12-member South Korean fact-finding team reported to Mr. Roh about their tour of Iraq. Brig. Gen. Kang Dae-Young told reporters that Iraq seemed more stable than portrayed in the press, saying, "People roamed freely and economic activities were also brisk." But there have already been two demonstrations in Seoul in the last week against sending troops to Iraq. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |
| #11 I agree with Liberalhawk. |
| Posted by: Paul Moloney 2003-10-8 8:45:13 PM |
| #10 I frankly dont understand all the flak Skor is getting here about this. Like d'oh people, theyve got the North Korean army sitting next to them, and there IS tension on the peninsula, like who knows when Kimmie will go completely loonie and start a war, or start a chain of events that will lead to war - kinda makes sense to keep the SKOR forces close to home, no? They need the 2nd ID AND all the SKOR forces. And then some. Its not like the SKORs are turning us down when we need help, and they have plenty to spare. SKOR supported us diplomatically on Iraq, and still does. I fully expect them to help financially (as they did during GW1, BTW) and in reconstruction - and to do so regardless of what the UN says. I dont see how we can blame them for not sending ground troops with the situation in the peninsula what it is. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-10-8 3:50:16 PM |
| #9 The American interest is now to close down Kim's ballistic export business. The Navy is a better tool for that job. Move the Army out and let the USN take care of business. We still have an ax to grind with Kim anyway. We want our @#$% ship back, pronto. |
| Posted by: Superhose 2003-10-8 3:00:51 PM |
| #8 I know where we can find 39,000 troops to serve in Iraq! |
| Posted by: Greg 2003-10-8 2:41:29 PM |
| #7 Hmm. May be time to re-evaluate exactly how much effort ROK is worth. Back in the 50-90's it was to stop World Communism. OK, it's stopped. China doesn't seem too interested in exporting it's brand. So we leave ROK and Kimmie's Kiddie Korps move in. No more cheap ass KIAs and Hundais. No more shoddy Sanyo & Daewoo. And Kimmie's Krew will be so busy scarfing their first decent meal in 5 years they should stay out of trouble for a while. Fantasy for the sake of humor, yes, but the basic question is still valid. Exactly how much value does ROK have to us these days? |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2003-10-8 1:53:42 PM |
| #6 We don't need to withdraw the entire 2ID. As the 101st pulls out, the situation in South Kurdistan™ will be such that a single American brigade can provide the security guarentees. The Kurds aren't stupid, and PADEK isn't much of a threat. So let's pull a brigade of 2ID out, and have the SKor's put their 5,000 troops in the empty space on the DMZ. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-10-8 11:28:37 AM |
| #5 "reduce tensions" at any price. We just want to be happy and sunshiney. Everyone bashed Bush's tactics but guess what, now it's Japan, China, Russia and SKor's problem. How's that feel fellas ? Where's Albright when you need her. |
| Posted by: eyeyeye 2003-10-8 11:18:32 AM |
| #4 Exactly. The 2nd ID would fit nicely, and it would send a strong message to the ungrateful South Koreans that we could care less if they get nuked by their psycopathic brethren up North. Really, it's not our problem anymore. |
| Posted by: Captain Holly 2003-10-8 10:43:37 AM |
| #3 We should complement our hosts and say that 5,000 Sk troops aer so valuable to us that without them we will be forced to withdraw 20,000 of our inferior US troops to compensate. |
| Posted by: Superhose 2003-10-8 10:26:42 AM |
| #2 Let's hope so,Mike. |
| Posted by: Raptor 2003-10-8 9:15:42 AM |
| #1 With any luck, we'll tell SOKO to shove it up its ass. Pull the troops out and send them where they are wanted. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2003-10-8 7:14:06 AM |