Time to rethink South Korean support?

[Don Corleone]

I'm with Kurki on this one. If the majority of the population want us out, we should leave. But with all due respect to a certain large contingent of backroom patrons, why should the majority of the under 23 crowd be allowed to decide anything, other than what the under 23 crowd is up to these days? Decisions that impact the entire population have to be made by the entire population.

I find it very interesting that a majority of these kids view PRC as their most important ally in future global events. The official view in China is that South Korea is a threat and needs to be treated with caution. Among very nationalist Chinese, such as found in the military, the view is that the entire Korean peninsula should be reabsorbed as a province.

[Devastatin Dave]

The teens hated us there when I was there in 01. They'll change their tune when they get a little older, get a job, and recieve much won from evil American GI, or if they're a chick, when evil American GI gets stupid and marries her so she can shop at the PX/BX/Commissary till she gets back to the States, sends all of evil American GI's money back to ashima back in Korea till evil American GI is totally broke and she's been married to him for 10 years, then dumps his ass when she's cleared him out and she'll get half his retirement since she stayed married to him for 10 years for the rest of her night, then leave out her days playing Bingo at the NCO club while banging retired NCO' and officer's living out the former Korean protestors dream.

In a nut shell, the youth hate us, the old who remember the Korean War loave us, and the politicians over there know what sort of money we generate for them so we'll never leave till there is no North Korea.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Argh.
Who in their right mind would swap freedom guaranteed by Washington for dictatorship and destitution imposed by Pyong-Yang?

Slice of a part of your military spending on South Korea and use it for free holidays to Chinese and North Korean 'summer camps' for those spoiled brats. Should get some sense into them.

[master of the puppets]

the youths have grown arrogant, they were rocked to sleep not with the tales of how americans won the victories, beat the chinese and north koreans, but with stories of the brave men of south korea who fought the northern invaders. they propably don't want to belive that us arrogant americans are some of the best fighters in the world when need be and that if it werent for us then they would all be considered commies.

[Fragony]

the youths have grown arrogant, they were rocked to sleep not with the tales of how americans won the victories, beat the chinese and north koreans

Sorry for finding this amusing, even if it's true

[master of the puppets]

Sorry for finding this amusing, even if it's true

...oh i get it...HEY SHUT UP, we WON the korean war and there would be no more communist north korea if that idiot truman had let McArthur finish his campaign.

[Ice]

...oh i get it...HEY SHUT UP, we WON the korean war and there would be no more communist north korea if that idiot truman had let McArthur finish his campaign.

We didn't win anything. It was actually a draw.

Edit:
Do you really think it would have been a good idea to follow through with McArthur's plan? Attacking China would have probably dragged The USSR in the war... creating a massive war, possibly WWIII in Asia.

[master of the puppets]

but we would of won.

[Fragony]

...oh i get it...HEY SHUT UP, we WON the korean war and there would be no more communist north korea if that idiot truman had let McArthur finish his campaign.

Easy mia muca, it was just the irony in the sentence that I found amusing, I know shit about that particular war.

[ShadesPanther]

Easy mia muca, it was just the irony in the sentence that I found amusing, I know shit about that particular war.

Or at the way none of the allies were mentioned.

[KafirChobee]

...oh i get it...HEY SHUT UP, we WON the korean war and there would be no more communist north korea if that idiot truman had let McArthur finish his campaign.

Sorry, but you really need to revist the actual history of the conflict - Truman kept his head, involved us because it was in the law to do so. MacArthur knew that a land war in Asia was bad news, and then thought himself immortal - and wante to invade China. Mac blew it, Truman shut the moron down. Mac had his day ... After Inchon it was done.

Fact is Mac is still "Dug out Doug", to a few still living. Regardless of the propagandic picture .... old Dougy was begging for FDR to save him ... and he did. Find a communications officer from the Orphans of Battan (No Momma, n0 pappa, no Uncle Sam) - they'll straighten your act out ... like right now.

[KafirChobee]

No news leaves Korea, like Redleg said - the tales end up next to the obits or not at all. If you are not paying attention. they pass by without notice. Hell, the North sank a ROK cruiser in the mid-60's (1964) and no one in the U.S. heard about it 'til the 70's.

In July 1967, I and a few friends sat on a pitchers mound (softball field at Camp Casey, Korea - outside Dongduchon) drinking beer and watching fireworks on a hill south of the camp. The vets there (I had just been reassigned from hospital - Vietnam) told me it was war games - infantry pretending to be in 'nam. Then a runner from CQ ran by (heading to the USO for the OD) and one of the guys asked "wtf man?" ... to which he answered that the fireworks were real. Personally, I was always a bit slow (maybe why I got tipped) - but, the only question I had was where are the guns. As it turned out, the MP's and infantry in that fight captured like a ton of mortars and rockets from the caves (the number of kills was never publicized - do know we had 3 wounded, no purple hearts rewarded - 'cause we were not in a war zone ... in July of '67'). Thing is, had they set up - it would have all been coming down on the Camp.

I do know Korea, from almost 40 years ago. And I do know that our government (past administrations that knew or understood international relations) prefered to keep it low key ('til now). The one decision of Jimmy Carter's that I totally disagreed with was his downsizing of troops there (Ronny did him one better though by again cutting them in half again... Clinton is the only president to increase our military presence there - Bush ain't done jack but spew words - or maybe he has a secret build up ... God forbid).

From Jan. 1966 - Dec. 1968, there were over 5,000 incidents in Korea (300 GI's killed or wounded - and forgotten). Ships were assaulted (even stolen - Pueblo), patrols and convoys ambushed, and helicopters shot down. It was more of a psyche war -for both sides, still it some times erupted. Btw, their psyches were better than ours .... nothing like listening to "When snow comes (grounds solid for tanks ... and ours are all Korean war vintage - theirs brand new USSR's), Joe Comes." [Joe is what we called the North Koreans - think it was because that is the only name they knew us by during the "police action"]. Listen to: :when snow comes joe comes, when snow come joe comes ...... every 10 and a half seconds for hours (actually), days, months ... one begins to believe it. Truth: Infantry serving in Korea during the Vietnam conflict had the highest volunteer rate for Vietnam of any other area (doubt there were many volunteers from Germany).


Again, I wasn't in 'nam long enough to know wtf was going on - I got wounded because some guys thought it would be funny sending an FNG up a pole to fix a non-existing break in a line ... funny haha. Nothing was or is funny about Korea. Take my word, we don't ever want to fight there ever again.

Wake up Chesty, if you don't believe me. God bless you, Chesty, where ever you are. Just come wake these f's up that think it would be a good idea to be fighting for something in or about Korea - today.

Or, When snow comes joe come. when snow comes joe comes, when snow comes joe comes, when snow comes joe comes .... Get the picture?

[KafirChobee]

Having read the history, i'm inclined to form a different opinion. If we had followed his advice from the start, and carried the sea and air war into china and along china's coasts, we would have won the war.

Actually it would be more appropriate for you to say "the governments released history', or haven't you heard that Bush43 just stopped the release of documents from 1954?

To even conceive that we could have fought China conventionally and won is ignorance, arrogance and plain stupidity in a combination only someone that has never seen the films of that war can proclaim. I recall the first "Why we are here film", a Captain was standing before the board (screen), the view was from a ridge ... flairs were being fired ... it was all black and white. The wind was moving the grain in the fields .... the captain pointed out that the grain were men ... the Chinese, then all H broke loose in the film, and I for one knew I did not want to be at war in Korea.

Now, you can take your little chunks of what you think you know about the Korean "Police Action" and praise the lord your Mac, you can even think that somehow Mac was the good guy in committing us to war with China and Truman the bad guy because he didnot again drop the bomb. But, you really need to look at the reality of it - or atleast talk to someone that was in it that doesn't think of themselves a hero .... so much as a survivor. Survivors tell the truth, those that think themselves heroes for being there tend to bend it (the truth) ... they also tend to exaggerate in the need for the conflict or their value in it (or the value of it).

Still a few Korean War vets out there (quiet tho they be) go find one ... and if they say Mac was good ... Truman bad ... find a real one.