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| China-Japan-Koreas | ||||
| South Koreans to US Military: Get the Hell Out!! . . . WAIT, where are you going? | ||||
| 2004-05-27 | ||||
A banner draped over the city council building in Tongduchon, a featureless military town 40km north of Seoul and near the border with North Korea, proclaims: "We are strongly against redeployment with no back-up plan."
Somehow Asian seething just doesnât measure up to the Arab standard. The anger is one of the most discernible expressions of a broader anxiety in South Korea. News of the plans for US troops has sparked a national debate about the state of South Koreaâs 50-year military relationship with the US. The contradictions inherent in that relationship are writ large in Tongduchon. On the one hand, Mr Park said, people are delighted that the town will no longer suffer the constant buzz of helicopters, the shock of weapons tests and military exercises. On the other hand the withdrawals spell disaster for the townâs economy. Tongduchon has been a US army base for 50 years and has developed the infrastructure typical of many military towns: restaurants, bars and prostitution. Mr Park said: "When the US goes 3,200 people who work at the base will lose their jobs and the total cost, which includes more than 500 bars and restaurants, will be between Won130bn ($110m) and Won140bn - 20 per cent of our economy. It will be the end of the town."
One of Mr Rohâs most popular campaign pledges was to reduce the presence of US troops. But since then he has sent South Korean troops to Iraq, prompting criticism from supporters that he has become a US lackey. Now that his campaign pledge is being fulfilled, conservatives in the opposition Grand National party say his left-leaning politics are undermining security. With passions running high, the US army has stepped in, saying the alliance remains stronger than ever and that the changing nature of warfare means the key factor is technology, not the number of troops on the ground. Lt Gen Charles Campbell, Combined Forces Command chief of staff, said: "Think about capabilities, not just about the numbers." The US has pledged to spend $11bn to upgrade South Koreaâs technological defensive capabilities. But in Tongduchon global geopolitics and the antagonism between Mr Roh and the GNP are of little importance to Mr Park. "People are suffering. It doesnât matter if the administration is left-leaning or not - surely they have to care about people?"
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| Posted by:Sludj |
| #17 Maybe we could just station big piles of money over there. Would that make them happy? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-05-27 4:48:17 PM |
| #16 oh yeah true. But I think you may be going overboard here. Yeah, some people in SK say they want the US out, some say they want them to stay. It's a democracy (since the revolution in 1988 at least). In a town where the main business is staffing bars for the US troops, obviously they want them to stay or to get someone to pay them compensation. Hard to make too big an issue of. |
| Posted by: Anonymous5022 2004-05-27 4:33:13 PM |
| #15 Oscar Wilde, if we're gonna quote Oscar Wilde a more appropriate quote would be "A true friend stabs you in the front." Clearly South Korea is a true friend. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-05-27 3:47:03 PM |
| #14 "On the one hand, Mr Park said, people are delighted that the town will no longer suffer the constant buzz of helicopters, the shock of weapons tests and military exercises." In fact, in just a few months after a complete US pull-out, there will be no more need to protect the DMZ with the North. The threat of war will be over for Korea. There are so many benefits to a US withdraw and a complete surrender to the North! [Irony added.] Look at the primary worry about the base closure -- money. What good will money be when you're starving to death (as noted by Zenster). |
| Posted by: No Military Experience 2004-05-27 2:19:32 PM |
| #13 If the younger generation, who grew up under US protection in an increasingly prosperous country, wants to blame us for the bad relations with their insane northern neighbor, then I have no desire to see Americans die defending them. We should insert a PsyOps team to obtain detailed video of children getting cannibalized and North Korea's elderly being intentionally starved to death during winter. Then beam that material all over South Korea's television broadcasts and Internet. These stupid idjits would STFU in a New York minute. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-05-27 1:47:50 PM |
| #12 alliance remains stronger than ever and that the changing nature of warfare means the key factor is technology, not the number of troops on the ground. Does anyone believe this? A heavy mech division with M1s and Bradleys is being replaced with wheeled Stryker APCs armed with .50 caliber machine guns. In addition to the brigade going to Iraq, I read somewhere that another brigade will come home, leaving only one brigade in S. Korea. Does anyone know if the tracked artilley and MLRS systems are leaving with the tanks? If the younger generation, who grew up under US protection in an increasingly prosperous country, wants to blame us for the bad relations with their insane northern neighbor, then I have no desire to see Americans die defending them. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-05-27 1:05:07 PM |
| #11 You think they would get some sort of hint from what happened Purto Rico with Roosevelt Road.... The Puerto Rican model is the first thing that sprang to mind upon reading the title. Thank you for beating me to it, CrazyFool. As the old saying goes: "Be very careful about what you wish for ..." Although, it's really tempting to quote Oscar Wilde at this point: "When the gods wish to punish us they answer our prayers." |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-05-27 1:02:19 PM |
| #10 Perhaps it's time for Colin to make a speech leaving South Korea out of our defensive perimeter in Asia. |
| Posted by: Mr. Davis 2004-05-27 12:48:13 PM |
| #9 We have helped SKor for 50 years and have sacrificed many of our troops so that they would be free and our country would be secure. It is time for SKor to grow up. Rummy's remarks a while ago were right on about reducing our troop presence. SKor has all the tools to defend herself, and she still has a massive US airpower backup. SKor better have the will. Enabling NORK behavior does not help. BTW the Darth Vader outfits on the riot police are pretty cool. Heh heh. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-05-27 11:50:19 AM |
| #8 Hey, don't slight the South Korean capacity for street rioting. Those guys make a Roman legion look like a class of unruly third-graders. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2004-05-27 11:14:21 AM |
| #7 South Korea has 10 times the economy of her neighbor and competitor North Korea. It's not like the 50s. They should want to defend themselves. Have they no pride? |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-05-27 11:12:05 AM |
| #6 These people must be Clash fans. âShould I stay or should I go now?â Besides, don't they know what the sound of freedom is? |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2004-05-27 10:42:14 AM |
| #5 In this area, Korea is not that different from California. Witness the performance of Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, senators from the golden state whenever the military attempts to close a military installation in California. The military's two harshest critics become instant experts in matters military to fight tooth and nail to keep the dollars flowing to their constituents. In democracies, the left assumes that the military will always protect them and guarantee their rights no matter what they do or say. Therefore they feel empowered to attack the military on all levels by questioning the motives, morality, intelligence, and actions of the men and women who serve, by voting to continually reduce funding, by restricting activities for "environmental" reasons (Large sections of a major training certer are off limits to protect the red cockaded woodpecker), and just in general making their lives miserable so they can posture politically. However, if the military calls their bluff and leaves, then all hell breaks loose. Ask the folks that used to work at Roosevelt Roads about the law of unintended consequences. |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-05-27 10:30:42 AM |
| #4 This town's story is the same as those in the US that have had military bases closed recently. Some towns have had a tough time redeveloping the old bases, while others have reaped a windfall. As ever in real estate it's location, location, location. |
| Posted by: Spot 2004-05-27 9:57:11 AM |
| #3 Jeeze.... You think they would get some sort of hint from what happened Purto Rico with Roosevelt Road.... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-05-27 9:57:06 AM |
| #2 ...You'll notice tho: ...today's demonstrators are expected to demand money from the South Korean government. Apparently, they know better than to hit US up for it... Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2004-05-27 9:27:09 AM |
| #1 Make up your f*&^%$# minds already! Geesh, you tell us to get out, and we say okay. Now you change your mind and say stay. The military is not a welfare make work program. We don't send troops to Korea to keep prostitutes and barkeeps happy. We send them there to keep them alive. If they don't need us, we should leave. And find some other form of employment. |
| Posted by: Anon 2004-05-27 5:05:41 AM |