By As I have stated previously, this is a bad move for South Korea to deploy troops to Afghanistan:
South Korea’s defense chief said Friday that his military is readying for “any request” from the government to provide assistance to Afghanistan.
“The military is making preparations to meet every demand from the government,” Defense Minister Kim Tae-young told lawmakers, adding South Korea needs to make appropriate contributions as an ally to the United States.
“The government will decide whether to dispatch troops, and the military is reviewing how to carry out any government decision,” Kim said.
He reaffirmed that the U.S. has not directly requested that Seoul dispatch troops to Afghanistan, apparently due to understanding of the political reality here.
Kim said the government is comprehensively reviewing its future contributions including financial support, expansion of civilian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), and sending personnel to protect the PRT members.
“The government is considering national interest, public opinion, and international trends,” he said. [Yonhap]
This issue could be a cause the Korean left could use to moblize against Lee Myung-bak if he does decide to deploy troops. I have been saying this for a while but there should be no Korean troops sent to Afghanistan for reasons I have outlined before. Doesn’t the US have enough allies doing little or nothing in Afghanistan, why add more?
8:48 am on October 23rd, 2009 1
Korean troops are already filling some roles in Afghanistan. They should send more…
11:01 am on October 23rd, 2009 2
"Doesn’t the US have enough allies doing little or nothing in Afghanistan, why add more?"
I think you're confusing Afghanistan with Iraq.
12:01 pm on October 23rd, 2009 3
Now is not the time. NATO and the US will be out in three more years at most. Save the good will til next time.
5:46 pm on October 23rd, 2009 4
I was pushing for going all out in Afghanistan until I examined the situation in detail. I said before that we screwed up by diverting to Iraq when we had an obligation to finish the job in Afghanistan. They harbored Al Qaeda. But that is history now.
I look at our early engagement. There was the Taliban and there was the mix of opposition tribes called the Northern Alliance. If you read the book Ghost Wars, the Northern Alliance was barely holding out on there own with almost no support. After 9/11, we were pretty much able to route the Taliban from there strongholds with little more than coalition special forces and air support augmenting the Northern Alliance. The Taliban were pretty much ready to run off into the hills when our regular forces arrived.
Now, eight years later, what do we have? The Afghan government is as corrupt as all hell. They barely control the capital city. The Taliban control two thirds of the country. Our own generals tell us the the Taliban are extremely formidable fighters. Yet, when was the last time you heard that the Afghan National Army ran a significant engagement against the Taliban? What happened to the balls and commitment of the Northern Alliance fighters?
Here is the way I see it. The Taliban are motivated and committed fighters willing to live in mountain caves drinking goat's milk and die by the dozens to kill five of their adversaries. The Afghan National Army are not.
From what I hear, the only real competition between the government and the Taliban is who gets the largest cut from the poppy sales. Other than that, its all about shaking down the village people for the little they don't have, and the government ministers siphoning off foreign aid money to private banking accounts.
So I agree and disagree with Gen. McChrystal. I agree that success in Afghanistan depends on convincing the local people that we are better for them than the Taliban. I disagree that sending more troops is the only way to serve that purpose.
Why is Obama taking so long to make his decision? Here is his dilemma.
1. Partner with an Afghan government that is seen to be fairly elected and purged of corrupt ministers.
2. After eight years, find a way to give the Afghan National Army a purpose. Make them more committed fighters than the Taliban, and make them believe there is such a thing as an Afghan nation.
If Obama can't find a way to accomplish any of those things then no amount of American, NATO or Korean troops will make a difference there.
12:30 am on October 24th, 2009 5
Joe I recommend you read this article that shows what the troops are saying is going on in Afghanistan:
http://rokdrop.com/forums/topic.php?id=193
2:23 am on October 24th, 2009 6
South Korea's decision to send troops to Afghanistan may create an uproar from South Korean citizens. Is using other country's troops to fight the war in Afghanistan less controversial than sending 40,000 more U.S. troops? Asia Chronicle has been providing insightful analyses on the situations in both Afghanistan and South Korea. Worth a read I think. http://www.asiachroniclenews.com