Comments on: Loony (?) starts Yongsan blaze, injures 3

By: Mizar5

Mizar5 — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 15:02:59 +0000

“If security is that loose at the main US base, despite the threat of terrorism AND despite the knowledge anti-US groups someone high up in the chain of command needs to be handed his ass to send a message.”

It is that loose, the reason being that Korean nationals are in charge. Which means that while non-military US citizens have great difficulty getting on base, native Koreans can buy their way on for a few won. Recently, a high-ranking American military employee invited an American civilian guest on base. When the civilian was denied entry for forgetting her US passport, the guy called in a favor from a Korean security employee who got her admitted. The high-ranking American had no means of getting her on base while the Korean employee did so easily.

By: Kunsanpcv

Kunsanpcv — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 00:44:04 +0000

If the US has not been worried enough about the North Koreans getting into a base (after all, we are still at war with them) to adequately guard them, why would they worry about a few muslims?

By: usinkorea

usinkorea — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 18:55:56 +0000

If they struck at a US base, they would not be targeting Koreans. If they will blow up US embassy’s in Africa, why not target US bases in Korea? I would have been scoping USFK out….

By: kimchipig

kimchipig — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 05:55:55 +0000

Come on Hardy, a terrorist is anyone who does not 100% and whole heartedly believe in what Bush and Rummy are doing,

Sheesh, and I thought you were so smart!

By: hardyandtiny

hardyandtiny — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 03:48:02 +0000

The bases have been attacked by college students. What is a terrorist exactly? Terrorists HAVE figured it out.
Islam will not attack and kill Koreans because they don’t want the general public in China and Japan turning against them and supporting the US. You kill Yonsama? You die!

By: usinkorea

usinkorea — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 01:52:54 +0000

I can understand not being able to protect every foot of fence line, but if the gates are not secure enough to stop 1 or 2 people alone from just walking in, I hope to God (really) the terrorist don’t figure that out.

A terrorist attack in South Korea is doable if they just don’t care so much about making them all on a mammoth scale.

By: hardyandtiny

hardyandtiny — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 01:01:51 +0000

Isn’t Gate 22 the small walk-in gate by Namyong that is only open at lunch time?
Anyone can get into Yongsan base, it’s not properly secured and never has been. You can ride a bicycle through various gates with a suicide bomb strapped to your chest and blow up the PX on anyday of the week.
A few years back the Korean college students broke into various bases and then the ROK government assigned riot police to each gate, but I doubt those police will have any effect on someone rushing the gate or scaling a wall.

By: Kunsanpcv

Kunsanpcv — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 18:40:33 +0000

Some of you readers may remember that 20 years ago or so a railway “guard” got drunk on soju while sleeping in a boxcar filled with dynamite (!), accidentally set fire to the straw, and then ran off in a panic. The car detonated and blew up the entire downtown area of Iri City in North Cholla province. If I were the MPs, I’d want to talk a little more with the employees.

By: kimchipig

kimchipig — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 17:29:09 +0000

Funny, when a Korean commits a serious crime against a foreigner, that person always has “a mental disorder.”

By: usinkorea

usinkorea — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:12:40 +0000

The Korea Herald was more pointing the finger at the woman.

It also made clear that she was on base and in the area.

I would like to know if gate 22 was really not guarded.

It would shock the hell out of me if it were not.

Unless it happened this way —- after the fire started, given how big it was and how many outside Korean firefighters had to come to help fight it (over 200), the gate was left unguarded or with guards not paying attention in all the confusion and commotion.

If it were really unguarded before that, and this woman could sneak in, gee wilikers….

….if I were a terrorist reading about that, South Korea would jump to near the top of my list of places to strike the US for a whole variety of reasons like —

the number of migrant workers from Middle Eastern and Muslim nations.

the amount of US military in the country.

the amount of native bad blood between the US military and local society.

If security is that loose at the main US base, despite the threat of terrorism AND despite the knowledge anti-US groups (primarily radical university student ones) constantly seek out weaknesses in base defense to stage a break in protest ————- someone high up in the chain of command needs to be handed his ass to send a message. I mean chewed out, publically disgraced, and fired — sent packing to some other command in some other country and not one that people want to be stationed in.