[Go Gordon]

Those troops aren't just there for North Korea, but for China as well and we need to re-assure our regional allies we are not letting them twist in the wind.

I'm no military expert, so I'll ask what seams like a logical question. With today's technologically advanced militaries, compared to the 1950's and 60's when these troops were stationed in South Korea, are the 35-40k US troops essentially a condensed sitting duck target if things were to break bad over there?

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"With today's technologically advanced militaries, compared to the 1950's and 60's when these troops were stationed in South Korea, are the 35-40k US troops essentially a condensed sitting duck target if things were to break bad over there? "

No, this isn't just Army ground pounders, it's the air force and missiles and anti missile defense. When I say we still need bases, it's not just a bunch of grunts (like me), but high tech stuff that the Air Force and Navy can provide. We need basing rights to be able to bring in large number of forces and armor in case something goes wrong.