The Defense Department says we still have over 20,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea 56 years after the war ended. Why are those troops still there after 56 years of economic and military aid by the U.S. to that nation. Lets examine how things are today compared to how they were during the Korean War and a few years there after.
The North invaded South Korea in 1950 and the United Nations and the U.S. responded by sending troops to defend South Korea. The U.S. and its U.N. allies destroyed the North Korean army in the first year of the war. China, which was called Red China at the time entered the war when General MacArthur threatened to take the war to China. President Truman fired MacArthur for those actions. MacArthur said China would not enter the war and he was wrong. China fought the last two years of the Korean War for North Korea.
Today, the China North Korean relationship is different and the South Korea and North Korea relationship is different. We are told that the U.S. still has troops in South Korea to protect that nation from an invasion by the North because South Korea only has a 600,000 man army and North Korea has a million man army. Lets examine that.
On an economic scale of one to ten, South Korea is a 9 and North Korea is a one. So who has the means economically to do what it takes to protect and defend their country from invasion? Yea, you got that right, South Korea. So let them do what ever it takes to protect their country if they feel threatened from the North.
North Korea has better sense than starting another war and invasion of the South. They could not afford it economically and they could not count on China or any other nation to support them starting another war on their own. The leaders of N. Korea are not so unstable that they would sign their own death warrant.
The U.S. is in its 6th year of war with Iraq and near its 8th year of war with Afghanistan and our military leaders have said our troops have bee depleted and we can't afford to fight both wars at the same time and as a result our men and women in uniform have been over extended. Yet we have 20,000 plus troops in S. Korea when that nation has the capabilities of defending itself.
President Obama needs to rethink all of our foreign troop deployments and bring all those home that will not harm our national security. Budget restraints dictate that and we need to recognize the world concerning war as it exist today. The real answer for North and South Korea is to reunite both countries into one nation. They should take the steps and do it on their own with no outside interference. The North is an economic basket case that can not provide for the needs of its own people. The South is an economic power house that can do just about any thing they need to do. As long as those conditions exist they will always be at odds with each other. But that is no reason to have U.S. troops there forever. Their highly charged accusations is also no reason to have U.S. troops there 56 years after the war.
President Obama should bring our troops home from South Korea. It is not only past time to do so, but under the present circumstances it will enhance our national security. If South Korea can not defend its own country after 56 years of American aid, our foreign policy has been a failure. President Kennedy in his inaugural address said: "My fellow citizens of the world, Ask not what America can do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Our troops in South Korea have served their purpose and the U.S. has done more than its part. South Korea has to step up to the plate.
