Posted on 06/01/2004 12:04:45 PM PDT by Happy2BMe
|
Shock waves in Seoul as U.S. to shift 12,000 more troops to Iraq |
SEOUL – First the Pentagon told the ministry of national defense it plans to transfer a brigade of 3,600 troops from South Korea to Iraq this summer. Now, the Pentagon is telling South Korean officials it wants to scale back the number of U.S. troops in South Korea from 37,000 to 25,000.
The news took the government here by surprise. A Blue House official, talking anonymously to South Korean reporters, barely masked the government's concern: "The realignment should not undermine our national security."
In and out of the government, the realization has now dawned that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had been deadly serious when he spread the word during his visit here last November that the U.S. had a new concept of flexible defense.
"FLEXIBLE DEFENSE" - ping!
I wonder if they're preparing to hit Iran/Syria..
Let's see how ecstatic University students are with the news, given all the protests theyve had on the subject. One would think theyd be quite glad.
It would be much bigger if we had decided to remove every single American soldier from Europe (excepting Great Britain, Italy, and embassies).
Personally I think we should pull all our troops out and let the South defend itself after the treatment we have received their the last several years.
Well, this should make the S. Korean, anti-US troop protesters feel real safe now. Be careful for what you wish (protest)for.
It is time anyway for SK to pick up its own defense tab.
Make "thier" there...
South Korea voted. They chose. Now they can defend their choices.
I don't know why S Korea is so surprised. It should have happened years ago. 600,000 S Korean soldiers can defend their country long enough for the Stealth bombers to slide in over North Korea to... "negotiate".
Agreed. Samsung, Daewoo, Hundai, etc. all seem to bear that out.
The government campaigned against the United States, they can just deal with it. We should withdraw every single American soldier from South Korea, let the French defend them.
I just bought a DVD for $99 dollars...a peace dividend?
They're surprised by this? I thought they were protesting our troops there pretty much continuously? What's that old saying? Be careful what you pray for ...
It's a good beginning--move all troops out of Europe would be a good next step.
Agreed, any country that can afford to run a large merchandise trade surplus with the US can defend itself.
Let's let South Korea be defended by her brave sons, shall we?
My guess: the former. Loggie sites will be kept up and running as if two heavy divisions were still there. Because they may have to return.
Just a speculation.
It should make the average American very uneasy right now. All this shifting of gears for little old Iraq. We'd be in a real fix if the ChiComs decided now would be the time to settle the issue of Taiwan
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.