The American Spectator

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Stay or Leave?

10.25.06 @ 12:01AM

YOU'RE A BIG BOY NOW
Re: Doug Bandow's One Way Out:

Excellent column, with a pointed, logical solution to the problems presented by North Korea. Unfortunately, since the solutions presented are logical, they are unlikely to be pushed by our State Department, or adopted by the current administration, who seem to be blindly "maintaining the status quo."

The troops stationed in South Korea actually limit the U.S. responses possible in the event of any North Korean adventure. They would be a "trip wire" in the event of an attack on the South from the North, which could get us involved militarily in a place and time where we'd rather not.

It is inconceivable our troops are still there, considering the South Korean attitudes toward the U.S. in recent years. Time to tell the South Koreans they are now "big boys." Good luck and good hunting!

Removing the umbrella represented by these troops might cause the South Koreans to have to face reality.

Again, a very good column.
-- R. Goodson
Vero Beach, Florida

I couldn't agree with Mr. Bandow more.

One of the reasons that practically every person in the world thinks that anything that goes wrong is America's fault is because our politicians ACT like we are somehow responsible for every part of the world.

The latest generation of South Korean politicians, and people, have proven to be especially, and irritatingly, ungrateful for the sacrifice of American blood and treasure.

It is a sad fact of human nature, that for a substantial portion of the population, the more you do for them, the less they do for themselves. The South Koreans, and the Chinese and the Japanese, are perfectly capable of looking out for their own interests.

There is no reason for the U.S. to be involved anymore on the Korean peninsula.
-- Terrence B. Hogan
Birmingham, Alabama

I think you are one of the few people in Washington who believe this country should not be a globally dominant empire and I wish you had more influence. Unfortunately, the pattern I see unfolding in U.S. foreign policy is attempting to build an empire by successively expanding one region at a time.

We spent the decade of the 1990s increasing our dominance in Europe by expanding NATO (a work still in progress) and bombing Yugoslavia. (By the way, thank you for your unbiased account of the situation in Kosovo. The only thought I would add is that the Serbs faced the same aggressive bias you describe in U.S. policy during the Croatian and Bosnian Wars as well.)

We are spending this decade trying to increase our dominance in the Persian Gulf by invading Iraq and maybe bombing Iran as well. Whether we succeed or fail, we will still be the only superpower and the rest of the world will be reminded that if they don't agree to whatever borders, terms of trade, or type of regime we want, WE WILL WRECK THEM! In that cruel sense, our Iraq and Serbian policies are a success.

In the next decade Washington will decide if China will accept whatever terms we want regarding their region of the world, or we will use Taiwan and/or North Korea as an excuse to make war there before China gets too strong. Right now our government unfortunately has no incentive or interest to peacefully settle any crisis or potential crisis in that part of the world. It will just stand pat until the time comes to make a decision based on Chinese power and perceived intentions.
-- Louis Radovich
P.S. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so.

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