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Seeker
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London Ontario
Jan 1970
time: 00:24
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"Seeker, Our presence on the DMZ keeps the peace"
No, it exacerbates the conflict.
I don't know why you think the North would invade if the US pulls out these divisions.
The situation is much different than 50 years ago:
-50 years ago, the Korean military wasn't much different then, say South Viet Nams was later. Today it is quite strong, much stronger in terms of technology and doctrine than the North.
-The UN and US would still come to Koreas aid in the (unlikely) event of an invasion.
-50 years ago they were backed up by Russia and China and 'Communism was sweeping the globe'. Today even Kim il knows it's time to change, look at his trip to russia and the new economic zone. (non-American) tourists can even visit Pyongyang.
-You seem to think that Korea is this weak little country only protected by thin line of Americans. Wrong. Modern south Korea is still one of Asias strongest industrial nations. The division in Seoul in particular is mostly symbolic, it's a tiny part of the South Korean defence.
South Korea is a strong country with a powerful military relative to the north and a much stronger economy. It doesn't really need American groundpounders, except for the symbolic value of being comrades, equal partners.
Many south Koreans now feel that the Americans no longer consider Korea to be an equal partner, and so the symbolism is now valueless and hypocritical.
The only thing they symbolize now is the obsession of the Pentagon to own lots of real estate in other peoples countries.
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DanS
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Kickball Capital of the World
Jan 1970
time: 00:24
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Many south Koreans now feel that the Americans no longer consider Korea to be an equal partner, and so the symbolism is now valueless and hypocritical.
Why? Our attitudes haven't changed, as far as I can tell. True, the situation has changed from being a bipolar world to a budding multipolar world...
Re the ambitions of empire, I can't think of anything we could do that would be of less value to ourselves and the world, but it's true that the base in Korea is well situated for projecting power.
Last edited by DanS on 11-12-2002 at 20:17
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Ned
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of Aptos, CA
Oct 1999
time: 21:24
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Seeker and Tinkai, We have troops on the DMZ for one reason, to keep the peace. We are there at the request of South Korea. We will leave if we are asked to leave.
I suspect that if SK asks us to leave, they will also ask us to continue to be allies and protect SK if attacked. However, our very withdrawal incents attack, so I don't know why we would do it.
Besides, the US is very good at welshing on defense contracts, especially if the other side has nuclear weapons. I can give you a list if you would like it.
As to the powerful SK army, what size is it compared to the North's Army? I suspect that NK would simply overrun the South as it did once before. But this time, if the South were to get the advantage, it could not invade North and finish the war. The NK's have nukes.
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Seeker
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London Ontario
Jan 1970
time: 00:24
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"Re the ambitions of empire, I can't think of anything we could do that would be of less value to ourselves and the world"
I agree completely!
"the South Korean armed forces-today, some 670,000 men, 461 combat aircraft, and a navy that includes 44 destroyers, frigates, and corvettes as well as 4 attack submarines"
...are faced by roughly a million DPRKs.
Of the US Military personel, 24 000* are actual soldiers. I hope you can see that, in the korean peninsula where hundreds of thousands are deployed, this is a pretty token force.
Also note: The NKs use an obsolete tank, and have limited fuel. Their airforce is equally obsolete, not counting their defensive air defence capablity which I don't know. Their artillery is mostly older towed 'soft' artillery and is outclassed by the South.
The South has modern equipment.
But much more importantly, the psychology is different now. Of those 1 mil, how many would be willing to participate in human wave suicide charges, which are what they would have to do on the offense?
Yes, they do have a lot of crap. Definitely, they could take Seoul, this has always been acknowledged in most plans. But will they? No. The average NK, and even the leadership, is less 'hardcore' than they used to be.
*I'm not sure about this number, I've seen as high as 48 000 for total military personnel, and they change how many are deployed. It may be more like 30 000.
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11-12-2002 17:01
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