If you want to see real citizen journalism, check out Middle East Journal by Michael J. Totten. On the other hand, fair and balanced it ain’t. His latest piece is on the rapid development in the Iraqi north (AKA: Kurdistan).
Iraqi Kurdistan is technically occupied by a foreign power, but this occupation surely ranks among one of the most absurd in human history. Dr. Ali Sindi, advisor to Prime Minister Nechervan Barzani, told me that South Korea is the official occupier of “Northern Iraq.” Korean soldiers are stationed just outside Erbil in a base near the airport. He laughed when he told me the Kurdish military, the Peshmerga (“those who face death”), surround the South Koreans to make sure they’re safe.
The Koreans are there on a non-combat mission (the Kurds can defend themselves just fine), so there is no shame it getting security help from the locals. They are in Iraq to aid development, which they are doing well.
UPDATE: On the other hand, I could be wrong.
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Shhh; don’t forget that the official “line” is that Korea is assisting in the War on Terrorism (not the promotion of Daelim toilet fixtures and the Korean Wave).
Just as you didn’t see any reports from Buffalo in the days and weeks after 9/11 with reporters heralding the construction of new malls and life being great, there’s a reason that the media doesn’t (and shouldn’t) care much about Kurdistan. The fact that malls are being built in northern Iraq isn’t the story. The fact that malls are being bombed several times a week in Baghdad is. And until the chance of being blown to shreds by a roadside bomb on your way to the Baghdad airport approaches the same chance as currently exists for one traveling to the Erbil airport, that focus won’t change.
Totten and the Korean soldiers are doing a service. It’s just largely irrelevant and not of much value when you look at the bigger picture.
– “Anyone that has to tell you 400 times a day how fair and balanced they are….isn’t.” –
The Korean government has done a tremendous job of sending their young men (and women) into a US requisitioned war zone in which their is minimal risk and maximal political (and economic) gain.
they did the same job in East Timor, occupying on behalf of a greater other a more secure ( and minority held) region.
Why a country that is occupied by at the least just 27,000 troops of the same foreign power would do such a thing at the bequest of that nation, is something I can not comprehend.
In the dictatorship days Kora sent valiant volunteers to liberate Vietnam from foreign oppression.
Under the period of Japanese liberation, many young men and women were sacrificed to free asian brethren from the yoke of western colonialism.
in vain.
Disrespect should not be paid to those brave Korean souls that gave their lives in the past to fight against the ignorant opinions of 21st century Orientalist netizens, nor should it be paid toward these noble servants of Democracy that are fighting for Justice, for Liberty, and they One Almighty, in ensuring the clients under their charge can freely pursue Happiness under sky protected by the star spangled banner, the Liberator of the oppressed world.
Glory unto Them.
Good for the Kurds. Maybe the Iran-backed Shiites and the Syria-backed-WMD-hiding-Sunnis will notice how well the Kurds are doing and stop killing each other.
Kind of like how the PRC noticed they were starving and South Korea was suddenly teaching them how to do stuff.
this is not a rant because “not enough Koreans are dying”, right?
would you rant because “not enough Japanese are dying” in Iraq?
Japan was mentioned in the 5th post on a topic that has nothing to do with Japan. Is that a record?
Sounds like Dr. Ali Sindi needs to check his dictionary for the meaning of “occupy”. Stationing a brigade of troops on foreign soil does not constitute “occupation”. If ther troops were engaged in running the country, or supervising the running of the country with veto power over decisions made by indigenous political echelons, then they would be occupying it. Occupying a country is not the same as occupying a chair.
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