U.S. to withdraw troops from Korean DMZ

This is a response to both North Korea's blackmail and South Korea's anti-American tone. I believe we would use tactical nukes against the North, if necessary to take out their artillery and to blunt an invasion. We don't want our troops too near in that eventuality. Just a few weeks ago, SK President Roh was in Washington asking that US troops not be deployed south (see article here.) Now he has his anwser. If we wish to arm a regional power with nukes, it should be Japan, not South Korea. Japan has the economy to sustain the expense of nuclear forces and a stable democratic government. They would take the responsibility for this technology and would be a credible counter-balance to China. Korea, North or South (or combined), would always view nukes as an economic asset.

This message is directed to Seoul more than to Pyongyang.

Absolutely.

In discussions on this forum several months ago, I raised the point that the wheels would come off in the streets of the US if 37,000 GIs were annihilated as the NK moved south.

American mothers would not tolerate their sons being used as a "speedbump."

What would happen if the "brothers" on the Peninsula had a war and the US sat out ?

Obvious point: This is to bring our troops off the chopping block and back them out NK artillery range. This will relieve us of having to deal with several thousand dead U.S. troops within the first 24 hours of another Korean war. It will also enable us to strike back more effectively, using our advanced intelligence capabilities to spot weak points in the NKPA advance, cut them off and destroy them.

Less obvious point: South Korea AND North Korea rely on the tripwire of U.S. troops dying by the thousands. It will elict a predictable and negative response from the American public. Wihout us there, it frees our hands, forces the ROKs to get real about their own defense, and steals a high card from an already sorry DPRK hand.

Less obvious than that point: Kim Jong Il is desperate to prove to his own elites, officials, and command structure that the danger from us is imminent, deadly and yet not hopeless. Starvation is on the rise again, and the military option is unappealing. With our troops there, leverage with America existed. Everyone knew that North Korea could kill thousands of U.S. troops, shatter the Asian economy, and (in the cold war) trigger a third party response or (as the thinking went with Clinton) ruin the legacy of the president.

With the 'kill 2nd ID' option gone, and ballistic missile defense looming, the North Koreans will be just about out of leverage points. Kim is not immune to internal revolt from his cadres if the situation becomes unsustainable, and that is precisely the atmosphere Bush is trying to create.

Thanks for the reply.

I knew you could extract all the subtleties out of this decision.

Thank heaven for an administration which knows how to make a decision without studying it to death.

Just do it !

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