The ROK Army’s Zaytun Unit has finally found something to do in Iraq. It took a year to find something for them to do but at least 40 of the 3,200 soldiers will be guarding a UN office building in Irbil the Kurdish capital city.
U.S. and South Korean defense officials from Washington and Seoul said yesterday they expect Korean troops in Iraq to assume guard duties for a UN relief agency office in the northern Kurdish city of Irbil, starting in September.
The United Nations asked Korea’s Zaytun unit, which has been stationed in Irbil since last year, for a protection force.The UN’s office is situated near the Zaytun base. Officials from Korea and the United States confirmed the UN request and expect Seoul to approve the step. “We believe the mission fits the troops’ peace and reconstruction activities,” said Yoon Kwang-ung, Korea’s defense minister. “We believe the operation is possible without any additional [troop] deployment.”
Mr. Yoon estimated up to 40 soldiers would be assigned to guard the relief agency’s office.
Lee Jong-seok, deputy head of the National Security Council, also informed the National Assembly on Tuesday that the Blue House was considering a plan to assign Korean soldiers to guard the UN mission in the Kurdish region. The UN has made numerous requests for protection for its new building and staff in Irbil where the international body opened a new office in April. However, the Korean government was hesitant to accept the request citing the potential for an increase in threats against Korean troops.
I have been critical of this deployment from the start due to my concerns that Korea isn’t doing enough for reconstruction and also that if Korea loses a few soldiers in Iraq the anti-American Hatefest will begin again here blaming the US for the attack just like the US was blamed by many for the Kim Sun Il beheading last June, when they should of having been going after the terrorists that did it.
However, this is at least a start and I’m confident the ROK Army will carry out the mission well. Now somebody just got to find something for the remaining 3,160 other soldiers to do.
Popularity: 1%
thanks for the link. Glad you...
5:51 am on February 8th, 2007 1
[...] Comparing Japanese contributions to Australia is even more absurd. Australia a country with only a population of 20 million people compared to Korea’s 50 million people sent 1,400 combat troops to Iraq who participated in the initial war and to this day continue to guard facilities in the Green Zone and provide convoy escort for VIPs and diplomats through the mean streets of Baghdad and southern Iraq, while the Zaytun unit had to be pressured to allow 40 soldiers out of over 3,200 to guard a UN building in Irbil, one of the safest cities in Iraq. I guess they were all to busy making toilet seats. [...]
9:35 pm on March 20th, 2007 2
[...] gangs. Also the Zaytun unit had to be pressured to allow 40 soldiers out of over 3,200 to guard a UN building in Irbil, one of the safest cities in Iraq. Security missions like this are what soldiers want to [...]