That Japan was not ruled by US-supported military dictators…

Would you be referring to this as part of the overall support of South Korea against the potential onslaught (again) of Kim Il Sung’s crew…

or…

would you be advocating that the US should have stopped supporting aforementioned dictators based in Seoul and washed its hand of South Korea altogether…

or…

would be advocating that the US should have actually used more influence in Korea to toss out this and that dictator until it found a fully democratic friendly Korean leader it would set up and possible defend against undermining by groups of South Koreans?

Uh, not what I heard. Da Vets I know say they wuz ladyboys.”

Maybe. In any case, my friend’s dad, Australian SAS, worked with the Korean special forces in Vietnam and he said they were good soldiers (then again, they wouldn’t be in the special forces if they weren’t).

Returning to the idea of ‘win/win’, whether it is a business deal, trade agreement, military alliance, decision about where people end up going for a meal or vacation, or whatever the topic, I’ve gotten the impression in my ten years or so in Korea that there is a popular notion that any such scenario has to have a ‘winner’ and a ‘loser’. (Maybe I’m naive, but I’m not convinced that has to be the case.)

Uh, not what I heard. Da Vets I know say they wuz ladyboys.

The standards have apparently slipped, though. One of my students served in the ROK marines. He couldn’t have had more than 130 pounds on his 6 foot frame. Needless to say, he was far from being an athlete.

Bingo. This is what the current Korean leadership and many Koreans just can’t seem to grasp.

I’d rate even the current US-Japan situation as, Japan getting the better end of the deal out of it.”

Possibly true. Same could be argued of the US-South Korean alliance.

“ask any Vietnam war veteran. They rate the ROK marines pretty high.”

Agreed. They were highly regarded by the US in Vietnam. The ROKMC is still highly regarded by a lot of American military guys I know.

“At present, I wouldn’t put any new US weapons in South Korea, because Roh Moo Hyun and Uri will find a way to leak it to China.”

Whether or not any new weapons systems, technology, etc. placed in South Korea would be leaked to China, it doesn’t change the reality - present, future, and probably past - of the US regarding Japan as a more essential and reliable ally.

As dogbertt pointed out, the Japanese have long figured out that rampant anti-American sentiment really isn’t in the national interest. They’re in the alliance for themselves, first and foremost, but who isn’t? I think the Japanese have a better grasp of the concept of an alliance as a potential ‘win/win’ relationship.

Seems that ROK is also not a reliable ally, too.

I just wonder what happens when Japan will amend the constitution and try to be able to become a more “reliable ally”.

I don’t think that ROK and CPR (and ofcourse the PROK) would be happy with that.