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| Iraq |
| South Korea to Send More Troops to Iraq |
| 2003-10-18 |
| SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - In a boost for the United States, South Korea pledged Saturday to send more troops to Iraq but did not specify how many or whether they would be combat troops. The decision came two days after the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a U.S.-led resolution aimed at getting more troops and money to help stabilize Iraq and speed its independence. So the resolution will do some good after all, eh? ``The government will decide on the number, characteristics and timing of the dispatch after considering the U.S. request and public opinion,’’ said Yoon Tae-young, a spokesman for South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. South Korea’s military’s capacity and other factors would also be taken into account, Yoon said. South Korea sent 675 non-combat troops to Iraq earlier this year. I think they could spare a brigade, mixed combat and support. Alongside 130,000 American soldiers, there are currently more than 20,000 troops or security forces in Iraq from 26 nations, most of them organized under two peacekeeping contingents: under the British in the south and under the Poles in central Iraq. The United States is pressing other nations to contribute forces. South Korea is the second nation after Turkey to announce that it has agreed to do so. But parliament must first approve and some lawmakers oppose deployment. South Korea’s major political parties did not immediately say whether they would go along. ``We will clarify our position after collecting opinion from inside and outside the party,’’ the main opposition Grand National Party said in a statement. The party has 149 seats in the 272-member National Assembly. South Korea also plans to contribute $200 million over the next four years to help rebuild Iraq, in addition to $60 million in aid this year, Yoon said. The United States has been asking South Korea to send troops to help restore security. South Korean officials said the United States didn’t specify how many troops it wanted, but cited the Polish-led international division of 9,500 troops as an example for South Korean involvement. Did someone say, ’brigade’? ``One thing that has been decided is that we will send troops to Iraq,’’ said South Korea’s National Security Adviser Ra Jong-yil. ``Nothing else has been decided.’’ I sense a certain lack of enthusiasm. South Koreans are divided over sending troops to Iraq. Some believe it would boost Seoul’s military alliance with Washington, which is vital to South Korea’s national security. Some 37,000 U.S. troops are based in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War. Others say the U.S. war in Iraq was unjustified and South Korea shouldn’t send soldiers. The earlier dispatch of non-combat troops set off protests in Seoul. ``We will stop the dispatch at all costs,’’ said Park Suk-min, a spokesman at a coalition of President Roh has said he fears that if South Korea is distracted by operations in Iraq, North Korea could take measures that would cause a deterioration of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. This distraction thing is easy to manage. I recall a certain president who talked on the phone with a congressman while getting ... oh, but that’s a different story! |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 It looks like we will be pulling some troops out. Link: |
| Posted by: Doug 2003-10-18 5:22:00 PM |
| #1 Ok, how 'bout pulling out our troops out of SK to send to Iraq if they don't? It only seems fair. |
| Posted by: Baltic Blog 2003-10-18 4:18:56 PM |