I’m vaguely familiar with the leftoid rationale for holding US responsible for Pinochet, Osama, Saddam (man that handshake he got from Rumsfeld has provided you guys with more exultation than all the pot in Mexico). But where in the name of Buddha did you get the idea that the US ever supported the Khmer Rouge?

Was it from that bizarro remark of Kerry’s during the campaign?

One imagines ROK politicans sitting around sadly over drinks, saying “Yes, too bad, we’d like to do something about our North Korean cousins being sent to their deaths but we’re just puppets, the US has left us no choice, we have to let them slide because of the example the US set for us in Cambodia 40 years ago…”

VW. Not sure what you mean by the supporting the Khmer Rouge. In my day, we weren’t, and my unit provided two brigades of paratroops to Lon Nol’s army. I’ve seen the left’s charges on the later period, but have never taken the time to really look into them. Cutting small time deals with the KR to recover our FULRO veterans was an action I fully support. I do wish we had been more even handed with the Vietnamese when they chose to topple the KRs, but, that’s politics.

As for Pinochet, where was the shame? He was a Chilean solution to a Chilean problem. Yes, the U.S. interfered (on a very minor scale), and yes, the U.S. supported him (after keeping his government at arms length for several years). Remember that Allende was elected in a three way election with 32% of the vote, and in a two year period had managed to gain the support of 50% of the population, while turning the other 50% of the population dead against him. (A classic recipe for civil war) The coup, came only after Allende’s opponents were totally convinced that he was going to establish a communist dictatorship, was mounted by the one Latin American army with the longest record of staying out ot politics. Further, it was not some armed caste (a la the Nicaraguan Guardia or the Panamanian Defense Forces) but an Army built of draftees. Did the adminstration then in power let the American people down? From a justice perspective, it damned sure did, when it failed to pull out all the stops to track down the murderers of an American citizen (Ronnie Moffit). But did it have any other options on the international level regarding Chile? The U.S. did not overthrow Allende, the Chilean Armed Forces, backed up by half the Chilean people, did. It would have been nicer had we taken a more principled stand, but I do not see that our interests would have been served my making Chile a pariah.

Sort of like the Kwangju massacre. A Korean Army, not under U.S. command, on Korean soil, put down an urban revolt with a heavy hand. Should U.S. foreign (to include defense) policy regarding the ROK have changed? Not if we still considered Korea vital to our interests.

To all. Yes, there is a certain lethargy factor in many U.S. policies that inhibits us from making timely changes based upon redefined interests. Korea may be one area that does require a re-look. But again, we will remain in Korea, with Korean government acquiescence, as long as we judge it vital to our interests. And here, I would like to point out, that our interest in Korea for over 200 years have been peripheral to our real interest in Asia, which has been relations (especially trade) with China! And as long as Korean governments deem our presence to be more beneficial than detrimental, we will be allowed to remain.

We are not here from altruism! We have interests! Those of you serving your country here should remember that, and recognize the right of the Korean government to define their own interests, which at times will be contrary to ours. Remember also that we have always wanted a Korean democracy, and Koreans now have one, however imperfect. Let us respect that, even if we disagree with some of the policies it engenders.

Just because they sound like ridiculous nonsense to you and me doesn’t mean they sound like nonsense to Koreans.

pretty good post. It’s too bad that it’s the “real politics” aspect of it that made us(US) support the Khmer Rouge, Pinochet, and a whole slew of other shady characters including but not limited to Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. Too bad that South Korea was such an apt pupil and would be so quick to abandon NK refugees…

1) America singelhandedly divided the penninnsula
2) The US bombed North Korea ‘too hard’
3) The US routinely massacred millions of Korean civilians in the war
4) America supported all repressive actions of the dictators
5) America approved/ordered the Kwangju massacre
6) The US is stopping ‘unification’
7) US troops are raping and killing ordinary Koreans constantly

Koreans believe North Korea is:

1) purely a victim of US aggression; did not start the Korean War
2) the country with the fastest economic growth in history until the 70’s
3) should never be pressured into improving human rights
4) is actually not such a bad place to live and work in
5) the government needs to be paid to exist because its collapse is too awful to contemplate
6) ruled by super-nationalist pro-korean heroes instead of the evil japanese collaborators that run south korea.

Im serious, South Koreans actually believe all or most of this stuff. Americans cant even argue with this kind of delusional thinking, so I doubt very much that Koreans can really be convinced of the reality of the world.