South Korea Abaondoning Alliance With U.S.

New York Times ^ | February 23 | Thud

[Thud]

This excerpt consists of five paragraphs of twenty-two in the whole article, so it qualifies as fair use. Note that the NY Times' headline has little to do with the story - the headline is Raines' usual propaganda but the story itself is reasonably straight.

This is definitely the end of our alliance with South Korea. When the time comes to take out North Korea's nuclear capability, we should take out the whole regime by destroying the railroad tunnels and bridges which hold that mountainous country together. Sure they'll starve, and flood China and South Korea with millions of refugees. But that will be their problem, not ours.

Our government's duty is to us, not to foreigners. North Korean nukes in terrorist hands will kill us at home, not South Koreans or Chinese. If the South Korean army wants to avoid this, it can. If not, we'll either eliminate North Korea ourselves or wait for its nukes to be used by terrorists on our cities.

[Thud]

ping

[lmr]

It just seems to me that the South Korean president is a 'clintonite', I don't think that South Korea would rather partner with the North and lose us... That would be stupid, and I think most grateful South Koreans would agree.

[Williams]

Another simplistic analysis with atom bombs dropping all over the place. I support taking out the N. Korean nuclear capability. I don't know where you get the idea that destroying the tunnels is so important if we are pulling out of S Korea. Also don't know why you are accepting this story as gospel. If it is true it hasn't been reported this way anywhere else yet. Maybe Roh is an idiot, a NK agent or both. Then again, maybe this article is sensationalism.

[WOSG]

he is dumber than a clintonite ... he is the full Jimmy Carter neophyte commie-swooner... he is taking South Korea down a path of foolish appeasement with a north korean govt that would actually fall if we in the west and in south korea quit propping it up.

[WOSG]

I go with Roh is an idiot, and some in his party are indeed spies of fellow-travellers with NK.

[Robert_Paulson2]

"It looks like Roh is prepared to throw the alliance away and make common cause with North Korea. We don't understand why he seems to trust North Korea so completely."

---

UH... perhaps because HE is one of THEM?

as in this guy is a commie symp, just like the democrats are here in the USA. They would sell our security and sovereignty down the toilet for a blow job from a two dollar whore... and so would this guy in South Korea.

NOW we pay the price for clintongs oral sex in the oval office... and some day soon, South Korea will pay their price tag for this guys capitulation with the comrade's to his north...

Live and learn... or not learn and repeat...

Bye bye capitalism, freedom and democracy. They will be lucky if they dont' get nuked and invaded anyway...

Japan will not sit still for this. Who can blame them?

[MJY1288]

I hope Bush accepts South Korea's offer of ending the relationship with us, but announces that we will not stand by and allow Kim Jong Il to produce weapons of mass destruction and continue their arms sales to despotic regimes.

We need to get our boys out of that region ASAP

[Thud]

God, a mis-spelling in the title. I gotta get more sleep.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

FYI

[Thud]

Wiliams, you asked: "I don't know where you get the idea that destroying the tunnels is so important if we are pulling out of S Korea. Also don't know why you are accepting this story as gospel."

The answer to your first question may be found in this article: http://www.strategypage.com/strategypolitics/articles/20030129.asp, whose pertinent portions state:

"... North Korea's transportation infrastructure consists solely of railroads and coastal shipping. Road traffic requires oil but North Korea doesn't produce any, lacks the hard currency to buy more than a little and so relies almost entirely on free Chinese oil. The rail system's continued viability is questionable at this point. Its collapse would be the regime's final end. Millions would starve in a few months given their weakened condition and the absence of stocks, and millions more would flee to the South and China.

North Korea's rail system is also its wartime weakest link. The country is so mountainous that precision-guided bombing of its many unconcealable railroad bridges and tunnels would irrevocably collapse the rail system in less than a month, even if we are then invading Iraq ..."

The answer to your second question is that I believe the public statements by South Korean president-elect Roh reflect what he truly believes and will do once inaugerated. This story is not my only source of information.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Abaondoning

I just figured that was the Korean spelling

[McGavin999]

The South Koreans are starting to panic. I think they have just had a massive dose of reality injected. The fact that Roh is appointing conservatives to his cabinet means that he's having second thoughts about the plank he ran on.

Sometimes it's good for people to see what would happen if they got what they want.

Personally, I'd like to see our troops out of there, but I'll defer to the more level heads who are running our country now to make that decision. The thought of sacrificing the blood of our troops to save the skins of an ungrateful people just makes me sick.

[lmr]

North Korea... quit trying to cut to the front of the 'ass-kicking' line. You will get your turn after we are finished with other business... we have too many things on our desk right now...

[B. Rabbit]

I have a hard time even believing this.

I'm not saying that SK should be a lap-dog, but for the love of all that is good, is there any doubt why SK enjoys prosperity and NK is in a permanent state of communism and starvation?

Zero gratitude. This Roh idiot needs to be exposed. That or let NK have 'em, pull our boys and girls over there home.

[txzman]

Did you happen to see Rather in South Korea?

Talking to a range of South Koreans, mostly younger, he got them to admit they are more afraid of Bush than they are of North Koreas' nutty professor.

These people do not have a clue. It gets very tough protecting idiots against themselves.

[hoosierskypilot]

These are the guys we fought with/for? And we still have troops there? Sheesh!

[Steel Wolf]

Also don't know why you are accepting this story as gospel. If it is true it hasn't been reported this way anywhere else yet. Maybe Roh is an idiot, a NK agent or both. Then again, maybe this article is sensationalism.

Actually, this article is pretty much right on the money, and doesn't say anything that isn't common knowledge.

The president-elect said he would replace the current armistice agreement with a treaty between the Koreas in order to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The DPRK will not agree to a peace treaty until the last U.S. soldier has left South Korea, a position they have held for some time.

Mr. Roh, a liberal labor lawyer with almost no international experience,

This is the most flattering way I've ever heard Mr. Roh described, but it is accurate. He is a very liberal thinker, and has many opinions about America and the North Koreans that are far out of sync with reality.

ashington would have little confidence in Mr. Roh, who has said he would never support the use of force against North Korea.

This is a very telling position. The DPRK is lucky to make it three days without threatening to destroy South Korea. They refer to the government as 'illigitimate American puppets' and openly plan for using force to reunify the peninsula. Roh's position is part fantasy, part cowardice. He truly believes that North Korea can be bought off, risk free.

many complain that the talk of an American withdrawal is fed by the petulance of a United States that is not accustomed to Asian allies articulating a strong vision of their own security interests.

South Korea doesn't have a strong vision of their own security interest. After half a century of looming war, they have grown numb to the threat, and blind to the danger that North Korea really poses.

[11B3]

It's hard not to read the writing on the wall in this instance. Our troops stationed there are no longer required there, and in fact would be in the way of a strategic strike on the North's nuclear facilities.

Therefore, there is one place that needs those soldiers in the theater:
Move the 37,000 troops to Taiwan.

Take that, China. Time to change your plans and ambitions on the island. We're going to defend a free nation against your hegemony.

[vbmoneyspender]

If the South Koreans want to go the assisted suicide route, with Kim Jong il playing the role of Dr. Kervorkian -- well, by God, we should let 'em.