I can breathe a sigh of relief. Reports that the US was suspending troop cuts in Korea have turned out to be — once again — bullshit:
The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Tuesday confirmed a plan to reduce its troop level to 25,000 by the end of this year under a global scheme to reposition U.S. troops overseas.
The confirmation of the previously announced plan came in response to recent news reports claiming the U.S. had decided to freeze its troop level at the current 28,500. The news reports cited recent remarks by U.S. Pacific Commander Adm. Timothy Keating and Gen. B. B. Bell, commander of U.S. Forces Korea.
“There has been no proposal by Gen. Bell or any other United States government official to change the 2004 agreement on troop reductions,” Col. Franklin Childress, public affairs officer of the USFK, said in a statement, adding the policy to reduce the troop level to 25,000 remains in effect.
USFK Commander Gen. B.B. Bell also “invited” the media and “other interested parties” to, well, stop making shit up:
“I invite the media and other interested parties to avoid speculating and publicly negotiating serious issues that affect the present and future of the ROK-U.S. alliance,” he was quoted as saying.
GI Korea, meanwhile, is afraid that in the even of, ahem, regime change in Washington, the new bosses might look to bolster US troop levels in Korea:
My worst fear is that if a Democratic president takes over and starts withdrawing troops from Iraq, in order to look tough and reassure US allies about the US commitment to them, the new president could decide to keep troop levels or even worse bolster them on the Korean peninsula. If this happens give me a red head band and a picket sign because I think I will be out protesting with Hanchongnyun as well.
I might be joining him out there as well.
6 Comments
troop cut and realignment decisions come a few higher levels than bell or USFK
so childress can spin it anyway he wants
i said once a conservative gets in office that some reverse may take place on decisions that were made to undermine the roh administration
the simple fact is that with lee completely reversing many of the pro-north policies it will now make sense for the US to maintain its vigilance
but either way a few thousand paper pushers wont be missed that much
who knows what bush and lee talked about during their phone conversation????
Robert, can i do a sack dance now?
Purely speculative anti-Democrat scaremongering. Yawn.
I always think of James Bond villains when I hear “global scheme.”
Well, you know… better to end the troops lives in a wasteful occupation of Iraq rather than have them where the actual threats are.