Do you think shady groups around the world are taking note of things like this?

Koreans have been kidnapped around the world over the past year.

I doubt that was anything but a coincidence, though I’d really like to go back and see….

But, with each new kidnapping, and high attention given inside Korean society, and each new payoff……it must start grabbing the attention to thugs and whatnot…

The Brits never let themselves get tied down with lengthy engagements, and seldom set up dificult-to-resupply and sustain outposts. On the otherhand, they never let any action by the hilltribes go unpunished. Well into the 1930’s, the Brits were launching punitive missions of up to a brigade into the hills to punish one tribe or another that had broken a truce. And aerial bombing really seemed to impress the tribes.

Looking back across the decades, it truly is hard for me to determine just when ROK society lost its capacity to look after its own citizens.

Whether the Taliban releases the hostages or kills them, whether money is paid or not, the ROKs should be planning to go over and kick some ass for a couple of months at least.

The guy I’d put in charge is BG Lee Jeongha, who I understand is over with the Zaytun unit now; he is a real old-school character.

Fact is, if the ROK fails to extend its power to lay an ass-whipping on some Pathans, we can see that the ROK is indeed a 2nd-class power.

How will they carry out the rescue operation, when (supposedly) suicide bombers are stationed around the hostages?

Thus the need to prep the public because many people in Korea are pissed off about this whole situation. I was just reading an email from my brother in law and he was expressing the same frustrations you mention that Korean netizens are saying.

But public opinion is so low they’re not buying it. Message boards at Naver and the Chosun Ilbo utter some of the same sentiments found here:

- Let’s learn from Israel, which hunted down and killed the Munich terrorists.

- The Left has turned Korea into an international traitor.

- We should send more troops and money to fight the Taliban and help America in the war on terror.

The most rec’d messages on the boards are critical of the missionary trip itself, the brutality of the Taliban, and of the Roh government’s handling of the crisis.

This whole Afghanistan thing will probably be played out with big money exchanging hands one way or another. If a rescue operation has to be launched the Korean government would not want the ROK SF to be involved because if it goes wrong they can blame the foreigners for the death of the hostages. Roh is a politician (very poor one at that) and not a leader. So don’t expect anything bold, but do expect plenty of CYA. You already see the Korean media prepping the public with the blame America storyline.

Nope, my guess is that the ROK public might be all about sending a strong message and seeking to punish the taliban, but they’d rather see it done with somebody else’s kids, like ours.