Politicians have begun to respond to the attack on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, where Korea’s parliamentary fact-finding team to Iraq were residing, and the responses are falling along party / ideological lines. Those who have opposed the dispatch of troops to Baghdad claim that the attack was a “warning not to send troops to Iraq,” while those in the Grand National Party (GNP) who have favored sending troops claim that the attack was an “insignificant incident” and that the dispatch should continue.
In particular, the GNP is arguing that since no one on the fact-finding team was hurt, and there is no evidence that the Koreans were the intended target of the attack, there isn’t any reason to make the incident bigger than it really was. Assembly Majority Leader Hong Sa-deok - The Man from Yeongju - said, “So what? This stuff happens in Baghdad all the time.” Hong added, “For some, it seems as if they think by sending a smaller number of troops, it will be safer, but the military experts are saying that the dangers will increase if the number of troops dispatched is small.”
GNP spokesman Pak Jin had this to say. “We already knew that the within Iraq, the security situation was not good depending on the region,” but “this incident shall not have any concrete or direct influence on the decision to send troops.” However, Rep. Hong Jun-pyo cautioned that “This incident, by making us feel that public order [in Iraq] is insecure, will give strength to those calling for discretion in sending troops.”
Within the Democratic Party, which has yet to make a decision on the troop dispatch within the party, the voices of those calling for caution grow louder. According to party spokesman Kim Seong-sun, “It’s quite fortunate that none of the parliamentary fact-finding team were hurt,” and “the worries concerning the unstable security situation in Iraq have been revealed as reality.” Associate party spokesmen Yu Jong-pil added, “After the fact finding team issues its report and the Blue House releases its dispatch plan, we will make our decision taking into account the national interest and public opinion.”
Noh’s Yeollin Uri Party is calling for discretion, of course, with party members saying that it’s important to study whether or not troops assigned to help rebuild Iraq will be able to carry out their duties in the current situation. However, those within the party more strongly opposed to the dispatch of troops to Iraq are apparently going further - Rep. Kim Seong-ho warned that there is a “high possibility” that the attack was a “warning not to send combat troops.”
UPDATE: The parliamentary fact-finding team in Iraq will apparently continue its activities according to schedule.
