South Korea to Go It Alone

I have already made my feelings clear about whether or not we should continue to maintain American forces at the DMZ in South Korea here and here. It now looks as if we may finally leave South Korea to her fate.

This is a clear case of leftist moonbats in South Korea finally getting something that they want, and it is also clear that conservatives and non-partisan military professionals think that this is very dangerous. They are correct.

A Needless Gamble With Our Nation’s Fate

The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States have agreed to dismantle the Combined Forces Command (CFC) on April 17, 2012. On that day, wartime operational control will be handed over to South Korea. The world’s fastest, most-efficient and powerful system of war deterrent will disappear, while the fate of the Korean Peninsula will be put to the test for no reason. Last year, when the leaders of the two countries agreed in principle to dismantle the CFC, former defense minister Chun Yong-taek said, “The president has finally made a big mistake.” What else is one to call it now?

Former defense ministers, officers, generals, foreign ministers, heads of police and other officials implored the government to stop the move, pointing out the bad timing of the dismantling of the CFC, saying, “not now when North Korea has conducted a nuclear test.” But this administration simply ignored such calls. The first defense minister, foreign minister, ambassador to the United States and national security advisor of this administration all voiced their beliefs that the CFC should not be dismantled, but to no use. The defense committee of the National Assembly passed a resolution opposing the move, but the presidential office pushed through with the move anyway. Two out of three Koreans (66 percent of all respondents in a Gallup survey last September) opposed the move, but this administration paid no attention. President Roh Moo-hyun even criticized former high-ranking military officers for being “pompous.” He scorned the Korean public for “hiding behind America’s rear end” and for “trembling in fear like the leaves on a tree.”

If (when) North Korea crosses the DMZ to conquer South Korea and unify the peninsula under the murderous government of the monster Kim Jong-il, the United States will come back and reinforce the South Korean army, right?

No.

The reason the CFC has prevented war was the prospect of the sheer volume of U.S. reinforcement troops that would be dispatched to the Korean Peninsula in case of an emergency. Former South Korean Defense Minister Chun estimated that deterrent effect to be worth 1,300 trillion won. The Korean public is concerned that if the CFC is dismantled, then this reinforcement would become uncertain. This administration said a guarantee on continued reinforcements would be achieved during the South Korea-U.S. defense ministerial talks. But in the joint statement following the meeting, there was not a single mention of reinforcements. Various types of joint military plans will also disappear. In the event of a North Korean emergency, all of our channels to utilize the assistance of U.S. troops could be blocked.

As I have said before, let them go. Let this be a demonstration project for the rest of the world. We have had the evils of every tyrant government from the old Soviet Union to Iran projected on us. From Stalin's condemnation of us as tyrannical and genocidal to Hugo Chavez accusing our diplomats of being professional assassins for the CIA and countries like Iran and Syria accusing us of exporting terrorism throughout the world we have been the canvas that other countries have painted their monstrosities onto. Many on the Left™ have called our presence in South Korea an occupation even though that accusation is laughable. In the next few years they may well see that we are a force for good, for security, and against the genocidal designs of maniacs like Kim or Ahmadinejad. Sadly it will take the loss of South Korea to do it, but they seem to have have made that decision for themselves.