We here at the Marmot’s Hole have been known, on occasion, to, ahem, question the scale of Korea’s contribution to the US-led war in the War on Terror, but over at The Diplomat, David Axe writes that Korea is taking a more active military role overseas, and that the Provincial Reconstruction Team being sent to Afghanistan is just a cover for a what is, in essence, indistinguishable from a US Army combat task force:
The South Korean contingent in Afghanistan illustrates Seoul’s veiled approach to a wider security role. The Korean troops, with their helicopters and armoured vehicles, form a ‘heavy’ reconstruction team that is, in fact, virtually indistinguishable from a US Army combat task force. And in fact, both the Korean PRT and a typical US task force conduct many of the same kinds of operations. After all, the Afghanistan war is a counter-insurgency campaign, where efforts to win Afghans’ allegiance drive military planning. In Afghanistan, the only important distinction between the South Koreans and the Americans is rhetorical.
Seoul is not the first government to attempt this sleight of hand in the interest of deploying forces to Afghanistan. The Dutch government deployed a similar heavy PRT to the southern part of the country soon after the US-led invasion in 2001. The Hague sold the deployment as a strictly peaceful, reconstruction exercise—never mind the jet fighters, artillery and helicopter gunships that accompanied the engineers. The rhetoric of peace was the only way to avoid a popular backlash against the operation.
The Taliban poked holes in The Hague’s cover story when hundreds of armed extremists attacked Dutch positions in Uruzgan Province in June 2007. It was one of the largest pitched battles of the year for NATO forces. Several Dutch soldiers died, while more than a hundred Afghan civilians were killed when the Dutch fired artillery and dropped bombs on heavily populated areas. In the aftermath of the fighting, elements in the Dutch government advocated cancelling the Afghanistan deployment; it took more than two years of political manoeuvring, but in February The Hague announced it would evacuate its troops this year.
Read the rest on your own.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
korea shouldn’t get involved w any combat operation in afganistan and in fact, shouldn’t be there at all. the last time koreans were killed in an american war, the 5000 dead were labelled as mercenaries. to this day, i haven’t seen an ounce of appreciation from americans for korea’s sacrifice.
koreans needs to ask themselves whether they should make themselves a target on america’s behalf. i say no.
Gee, another state with troops in a war that should have ended in 2001.
This moron needs a reality check. Since when is stepping out smartly and drawing fire merely rhetorical? I’ve never heard of the Koreans participating in, let alone, initiating combat operations, regardless of the composition of their force. Absent that, their mobilization of what could be a fighting force is just an exercise in higher logistics.
I had been curious about why the elite Korean troops were fighting to join the mission. They probably knew ahead of deployment…
Left Flank,
It appears you don’t know a think about history… at least the history of Central Asia. Afghanistan has given EVERYONE problems, be it the British, the Russians and yes… now the Americans.
Even Alexander the Great had to marry a chieftain’s daughter (Roxane) to help him placate the tribes of Bactria (i.e. modern day…. guess who?… Afghanistan).
*Thing* not *think*
Thank you Korea for your contribution to Iraq. There you go pawikirogii, now that you have your ounce you can move on.
As for the PRT being virtually a BCT, there appears to to be a very heavy emphasis on the virtual part. Current plans inlude a few cargo helicopters, some up-armored vehicles and around 300 troops for security. That wouldn’t fill out a complete BN of a US BCT. I guess the missing 155mm self propelled artillery, the Tank Companies, the UAV capability the other thousands of soldiers will be leveraged through the ROK forces un-parralled StarCraft Gaming skills which will logically neutralize many Taliban capabilities.
Even giving the author the very wide benefit of the doubt on what comprises a Combat Task Force would be futile. If the infantry wears body armor are they now mechanized? A very poorly written article.
It’s difficult to contest their characterization as mercenaries given the way that Foreign Minister Lee in his memoirs brags about the per capita bounty that he and Park Chung Hee extorted out of the US as a condition of sending Korean troops – not to mention the rest of the dosh they got over and above ROKGOV’s expropriation of the lion’s share the ROK troopers’ pay.
Otherwise, I agree, if you’re not on board with the program, you should jump ship. Caveat: don’t expect anyone to fling a lifeline of subsidies after you.
You don’t get diddly from the Americans for helping out. But staunch “allies” get a heap of crap if they don’t. I doubt Korea could afford the negative impression it would create in D.C. if they decided not to support America’s BS wars.
yeah, dead is dead, but keep talking. you reading this, minster kim? remember it when koreans start dying in afghanistan. korea needs to be smart. the muslims have never done anything to korea. the korean goverment needs to keep it that way.
*******
the ire and hatred muslims feel towards the west is deserved. israel is the reason why. let the west settle this w the muslim world. don’t be a patsy, korea. best to stay out of this one. إن شاء الله
“South Korea also plans to send helicopters to support these ground troops. ”
–David Axe
“Current plans inlude a few cargo helicopters, some up-armored vehicles and around 300 troops for security.”
–Hamilton
Interesting. I wonder what the purpose of this article is. And who it is written for. Well, I guess we will find out one way or another what the truth is by the end of the year.
#5:
I’m still looking for a liberaltarian consensus. In response, two books:
1. Short view: Andrew Bacevich’s The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War
2. Long view: Cristope Beckwith’s Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present
Before we start belittling Korea’s contributions to the GWOT since 9/11 in Iraq and Afghanistan, let’s not forget that regardless of whatever the phonies in Seoul say, there have already been 18 Koreans (16 military deaths and two civilian deaths) who have died in the region, specifically:
-15 Korean Americans KIA serving in the U.S. military during OIF and OEF in Iraq and Afghanistan;
-one ROK Army KIA in Afghanistan;
-two Korean civilians kidnapped and murdered by Al-Qaeda in Iraq (7/2004) and the Taliban in Afghanistan (7/2007).
The 15 Korean Americans killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan in direct support of OIF and OEF are as follows:
The 15 Korean Americans KIA in support of OIF/OEF as of April, 2010 according to DoD are:
2007 KIAs:
15) Army SPC Shinwoo Kim, 23, of Fullerton , CA .
Unit: assigned to 2-12 Infantry, 2nd BCT, 2nd ID, Ft. Carson, CO.
MOS: Army Medic
KIA 6-28-07 from IED. SPC Kim was killed along with four other members of his squad from IED wounds.
14) U.S. Army SFC Nathan L. Winder, 32, of Blanding , UT.
Unit: assigned to 2-1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Ft. Lewis , WA .
MOS: Special Forces Medic
KIA 6-26-07 in Diwaniyah , Iraq , of a shot to the neck sustained from enemy small-arms fire.
13) U.S. Army SPC Louis G. Kim, 19, Covina , CA
Unit: 1-26th Inf, 2nd BCT, 1st ID, Schweinfurt , Germany .
KIA: 2-20-2007, Ramadi Iraq , from small-arms fire during combat operations.
2006 KIAs:
12) U.S. Army Sgt. Jae S. Moon, 21, Levittown , PA
Unit: 2-12 Inf, 2nd BCT, 2nd ID, Ft. Carson, CO
KIA: 12-25-2006, Baghdad , IED
11) U.S. Marine Lcpl. Minhee Kim, 20, Ann Arbor , MI
Unit: 1-24th Marines, 4th MarDiv, USMCR.
KIA: 11-1-2006, Anbar Province , from small-arms fire during combat operations.
10) U.S. Army PFC Jang-ho Kim, 20, Placentia , CA
Unit: 1-26 Inf, 2nd BCT, 1st ID, Schweinfurt , Germany .
KIA: 11-13-2006, Baghdad , IED.
9) U.S. Army Sgt. Kyu H. Chay, 34, Fayettville , NC
Unit: 1-3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Ft. Bragg , NC .
KIA: 10-28-2006, Oruzgan Province , Afghanistan , IED.
8) U.S. Marine Lcpl. Kun Y. Kim, 20, Atlanta , GA
Unit: 3-8 Marines, 2nd MarDiv, II MEF, Lejeune , NC
KIA: 4-2-2006, Anbar Province , Iraq , during combat ops.
2005 KIAs:
7) U.S. Navy QM2 (SEAL) James Suh, 28, Deerfield Beach , FL
Unit: SDV-Team 1, Pearl Harbor , HI
KIA: 6-28-2005, mountains of eastern Afghanistan , MH-47 Chinook helicopter crash during Operation Red Wing.
6) U.S. Army PFC Samuel S. Lee, 19, Anaheim , CA
Unit: 1-506 IN, 2nd ID, Camp Greaves , Korea
KIA: 3-28-2005, Ramadi , Iraq , undetermined incident.
5) U.S. Army PFC Min-soo Choi, 21, RiverVale , NJ
Unit: 6-8 Cav, 4th Bde, 3rd ID, Ft. Stewart , GA
KIA: 2-26-2005, Abertha , Iraq , IED.
2004 KIAs:
4) U.S. Marine Cpl. In-Chul Kim, 23, Warren , MI
Unit: 9th Com Btn, 1st MEF, Pendleton
KIA: 12-7-2004, Anbar Province , Iraq , vehicle accident.
3) U.S. Army Pvt.Jeung-jin Na Kim, 23, Honolulu , HI
Unit: 2-17 FA, 2nd ID, Camp Hovey , USFK
KIA: 10-6-2004, Ramadi , Iraq , small-arms fire during combat operations.
2) U.S. Marine Cpl. Bum R. Lee, 21, Sunnyvale , CA
Unit: 2-4 Marines, 1st MarDiv, 1st MEF, Pendleton
KIA: 6-2-2004, Anbar Province , Iraq during combat operations.
1) U.S. Marine Lcpl. Brad S. Shuder, 21, El Dorado , CA
Unit: 2-1 Marines, 1st MarDiv, 1st MEF,Pendleton
KIA: 4-12-2004, Anbar Province , Iraq from enemy mortar fire.
[Lance Corporal Brad Shuder, an Overseas Adopted Korean, is the first Korean-American KIA during the GWOT.]
How are the fifteen KAs part of “Korea’s contribution”?
They look more like their respective families’ and America’s contribution.
It is true that the sacrifice of the aforementioned heroes do not represent an official Korean contribution to the GWOT per se. Ultimately, these Korean Americans’ sacrifice represent the U.S.A., their respective families, and the KA community.
That said, I mention their sacrifice only to SHAME the Korean government who claims to serve, defend and protect the interests of Korean people.
In reality, of course, this is not the case, nor has it ever been.
Throughout Korean history, it has always been heroic private individuals — guided mostly by their own conscience — who sacrificed themselves willingly for a better Korea — in spite of the de facto ruling class.
Korea needs to wake up and realize that it is in fact the Korean diaspora that is doing the job of upholding Korea’s prestige and honor around the world — NOT the chickenshit Korean government who cannot be counted upon to lift a finger for its own people.
(Of course, this shouldn’t be surprising especially if you are acquainted with Korea history and people like Admiral Yi Sun-shin, who were persecuted and near put to death by their own government for simply trying to defend their country.)
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