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Seoul Weighs Shift in U.S. Military Ties
The Wall Street Journal ^ | 5/31/2010 | Jay Solomon

Posted on 05/31/2010 10:01:34 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld

South Korea is reviewing its defense policy following North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean naval vessel, a process that could significantly change Seoul's military alliance with Washington, according to officials engaged in the process.

Over the past week, U.S. and South Korean leaders have outlined plans to conduct war games and strategy sessions to better equip the South for combating the type of submarine attack Pyongyang is accused by international investigators to have staged in March, killing 46 South Korean sailors.

For the longer term, President Lee Myung-bak's conservative government could seek to alter the alliance's command structure and Seoul's weapons arsenal in ways that would affect the Pentagon's current strategic planning for Northeast Asia, according to these officials

South Korean defense strategists already are publicly pressing Mr. Lee to delay the planned 2012 transfer of operational control of the combined U.S.-South Korean fighting force to Seoul from Washington, arguing South Korea isn't prepared yet to oversee American forces.

The agreement between Washington and Seoul has a clause that allows South Korea's president to formally request a suspension of the transfer. The U.S. currently deploys 29,000 troops in South Korea, and the South Korean military deploys 600,000.

Some South Korean officials involved in the president's military-overhaul drive also are calling for Seoul to develop more offensive strategic weapons as a means to deter the nuclear-armed North from future aggression. Currently, South Korea's defense agreement with the U.S. prohibits Seoul from deploying precision-guided missiles with a range of more than 300 kilometers

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cheonan; koreanpeninsula; leemyungbak; northeastasia; northkorea; southkorea; southkoreanmilitary; usfk; usmilitary
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To: JoSixChip

Each of those 37,000 troops have people back home who will be calling their congressman/woman.


21 posted on 05/31/2010 10:48:24 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld ( "Fortes fortuna adiuvat"-Fortune Favors the Strong)
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To: sonofstrangelove
"I have no idea what he will do."

You nailed in a nut shell there. And that is truly the SCARIEST part of all. Usually as POTUS' go we can believe that they think they would do what is in the best interest of our country and our allies but with Barry and his inexperience and the show of little loyalty to our allies of late we don't have a clue if he has our nation's best interests in mind or knows how to best defend our country if war breaks out.

With Obama's track record as of right now those that voted for him should be freaking out and going "what the hell have we done" crazy by now. The Political World Stage of War is not the place for one to be just cutting their teeth in strategic world politics in a time of crisis. Hopefully this clown will realize this see that he is in way over his head and step down before something really big and bad breaks out that he has no idea on how to handle.

22 posted on 05/31/2010 10:58:06 PM PDT by Captain Beyond (The Hammer of the gods! (Just a cool line from a Led Zep song))
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To: Captain Beyond

Zero and nobody in his staff has any clue whatsoever on strategic warfare. Leave war to the generals.


23 posted on 05/31/2010 11:01:26 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld ( "Fortes fortuna adiuvat"-Fortune Favors the Strong)
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To: sonofstrangelove
Major Chinese City distance from Seoul(km) region
Shenyang, Liaoning, China 560 Manchuria
Harbin, Heilongjiang, China 911 Manchuria
Beijing, Beijing, China 954
Shanghai, Shanghai, China 885 South China
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China 2076 South China near Hong Kong
Chongqing, Chongqing, China 2091 next to Sichuan (deep inland)
WUHAN, Hubei, China 1405 inland city

24 posted on 05/31/2010 11:02:54 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster (The way to crush the bourgeois is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation)
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To: sonofstrangelove
Even intermediate range missiles with range of 1,000km could hit many major cities, according to the table above.
25 posted on 05/31/2010 11:04:49 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster (The way to crush the bourgeois is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation)
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To: TigerLikesRooster

I was thinking that South Korea should buy those Taiwanese HF-2E cruise missiles


26 posted on 05/31/2010 11:06:10 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld ( "Fortes fortuna adiuvat"-Fortune Favors the Strong)
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To: sonofstrangelove

Time to quit playing games with No. Korea and time to start sinking their subs.

The last time they killed an American soldier, Pres. Ford sent out a stupid show of B-52s and cut down a tree.

Big deal. The American soldier had his head nearly cut off by a No. Korean soldier using a shovel. And we did nothing.


27 posted on 05/31/2010 11:17:38 PM PDT by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper
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To: MadMax, the Grinning Reaper
Time to quit playing games with No. Korea and time to start sinking their subs
I agree
28 posted on 05/31/2010 11:19:37 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld ( "Fortes fortuna adiuvat"-Fortune Favors the Strong)
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