Richard Halloran discusses the massive changes currently underway for U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region, including what may be in store for USFK:
In addition, the headquarters of the Army in the Pacific is preparing to assume command of Army forces in South Korea, which are gradually being reduced and may eventually be largely withdrawn. Plans call for dismantling or shrinking the United Nations Command in Seoul that dates back to the Korean War that ended in 1953.
The Army also plans to transfer the Eighth Army headquarters from Seoul to Hawaii and to turn back to the South Koreans control of their forces commanded today by a joint U.S.-South Korea headquarters. The four-star American general’s post in Seoul would move to Hawaii.
Military officers say this could happen by 2008 or any time after. The official line is that the threat from North Korea must lessen and stability come to the peninsula first. The unofficial betting is that rising anti-Americanism in Seoul will cause that move to be made more sooner than later.
And one gets the feeling after reading things like this (or better still, this) and this that sooner might be real soon.
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I attended a hearing at which Chris Hill testified before Rep. Hyde’s International Relations Committee last week. Rep. Hyde gave a statement that contains most of the info alluded to in the KH article, and more. The full text makes for interesting reading. I also spoke with Dennis Halpin there; he was kind enough to forward me the text of his address at Heritage. Don’t presume that Halpin is my source on this, but the issue of anti-Americanism and the general direction of the alliance may soon be the subject of hearings.
Loose lips sink ships. Unless you read it here, it’s all smoke and mirrors subject to change in the amount of time it takes to prepare a new PowerPoint briefing.
American troops leaving can?t happen soon enough as far as I?m concerned. South Korea is the 15th/16th(?) largest economy in the world. North Korea is broke and starving. There is no reason why my U.S. tax dollars should be subsidizing South Korea?s defense when South Koreans are so obviously capable of doing it themselves.
Plus no country or person will ever grow up and fully mature until they become responsible for taking care of themselves. It is time for the U.S. to step aside and let the Koreans assume responsibility for its own defense.
Ari(w)rong - North Korea is the two year-old with a loaded gun at your head, you’re pretty sure you could over power the two year old, but that brief amount of time between you doing it and for them to pull the trigger keeps things as is.
ari(w)rong can think what he likes. But let me tell you this: The minute they announce an actual withdrawl, I’m on the first boat out of Korea. The south is going to fall over like a five am soju-head should the norks attack. And if they do succeed in fighting them back, the country will be flattened anyway.
To Willi G.
Your delusional fantasy about South K. getting obliterated
by North is just that, a terribly misguided delusional
fantasy. South is not as weak as you’d like to believe. South
is fully capable of defending herself. Caucasoid race led U.S. regimes and the degenerate island monkeys(NIPS) are THE BIGGEST
stumbling blocks preventing South to be fully autonomous in
terms of exercising her true military capability. In fact,
South can actually produce every thing from simple bullets
to aircraft carriers. Do you know why both u.s. and the japs do not want to witness MIGHTY KOREA? I tell you why! They want total complete dominance over Koreans. However, the conspiracy will not last. Watch and see.
Hey Supergook…
No worries, on the part of Japan and the US I believe. History has shown over and over that you gooks have a natural penchant for fucking yourselves up even when you are given simple step by step directions. You gooks couldnt even organize a one man race if it came down to your life. Believe me, that is why the US, Japan, Russia, or Chinese feel the need to guide you gooks along to doing the simplest of tasks…its not that they actually want to dominate you because that would be too simple a thing. I guarantee that it wouldnt be more than just one month even after you gooks were to reunify with your dog eating flat faced brethren up North that you would come begging on your knees for your superior US or Japanese masters to come save your tail ass from starving.