Ever since a North Korean pilot defected by flying south and no one sounded the alarm, the jig has been up. An angry President Kim Young Sam called a conference of "all those military leaders responsible for the defense of the Korean Peninsula." The CFC/UNC/USFK commander was not included. Message received.

The Koreans can and should defend the peninsula themselves but they also recognize that in the short term it could cost billions to replace the deterrent capability provided by American forces, billions they understand would be better spent on infrastructure to help make their industry more competitive in a world economy. So while we are sending uparmored hummers to the 2ID because they were useful in Afghanistan, the Congress is voting on a $700B bailout plan for the American economy.

The masses in the US — the folks who pay the bills — MUST believe this. It's irrelevant what we think. Most older military heads look at the troops in Korea as simply sitting in a staging area for regional conflicts, but the US masses won't buy this. I personally believe the North would NEVER commit suicide and invade, but this belief negates the existence of the USFK. In the Roh Moo-hyun era, the USFK trained for its "mission" without having a "main enemy" according to the ROK Ministry of Defense. That the non-existent "main enemy" killed ROK Navy folks made the whole scene surreal.

But the main point is that reality doesn't matter. It only matters that the US people believe the North is ready to invade the South. If they didn't, the USFK would have marching orders to depart Korea in a heartbeat.

How much does all of this have to do with some 4-star General's ego?

Nice blog btw!

-van