-
Restrain the Abusive Administative State
May 22, 2013 | 24 comments
-
Delivering Serbs to the Wolves
May 21, 2013 | 29 comments
-
The Perils of Intervention in Syria
May 7, 2013 | 37 comments
-
America on Welfare
April 25, 2013 | 46 comments
-
Thursday Is Tax Freedom Day
April 17, 2013 | 5 comments
Special Report
South Korea’s New Direction
The election of its first woman president could mean some new “sunshine” for North Korea.
(Page 2 of 2)
Park’s election may complicate the ROK’s relationship with Washington. The Obama administration appears to be skeptical of any new North Korean initiatives. That is unlikely to change after the North’s rocket launch. If Seoul moves forward, it could resurrect the tensions of the 2000s, when George W. Bush pushed isolation and liberal Kim Dae-jung practiced engagement.
It is time for Washington to ask: Why is America guaranteeing the security of a country that worries ever less about its own security? Moreover, the South is well able to defend itself — it enjoys roughly a 40-1 economic advantage, for instance. Yet even the conservative Lee government allowed South Korean military outlays to lag. Surely the U.S. should not pay to defend a country that subsidizes its enemy.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently argued: “We maintain those forces not only for help and protection of South Korea but also as a force to indicate that the United States is going to always maintain a military presence in the Pacific.” However, alliances and deployments should be a means to an end, not an end in themselves. Why maintain such a presence?
Emergency access to ROK bases would be helpful to meet unexpected contingencies, but the permanent presence of an army division with no obvious use anywhere wastes American resources and entangles American forces. Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates made the obvious point that anyone advocating another land war in Asia should “have his head examined.”
Just as many South Koreans no longer worry much about the DPRK, Americans should no longer worry much about the ROK. The Cold War is over, South Korea’s security is not vital to that of America, and the South can safeguard its own future. Moreover, Washington is effectively broke and no longer can afford to treat defense spending as welfare for its friends.
South Korea has much of which to be proud. An impoverished dictatorship has become a prosperous democracy. If the new president wants to go back to appeasing the North, that is South Korea’s prerogative. However, there’s no reason for Washington to be subsidizing it.
About the Author
Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. A former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan, he is the author and editor of several books, including The Politics of Plunder: Misgovernment in Washington (Transaction).
Letter to the Editor View all comments (12) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Doug Bandow
More Articles From Special Report
http://spectator.org/archives/2012/12/20/south-koreas-new-direction
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
H/T to National Review Online
ADVERTISEMENT
Pecos Pete| 12.20.12 @ 6:54AM
Remove our military from South Korea. Works for me. Bring them back to the USA.
Mike G| 12.20.12 @ 8:37AM
Same goes for our troops in Europe and the ME.
Occam's Tool| 12.20.12 @ 4:47PM
Indeed. The Afghans are animals. We should blow up whatever is required to teach them not to mess with us (Teheran being an excellent example), and withdraw as much as possible. We no longer need their oil, and our only concern is to smash their terrorist rings. This can be done most economically by teaching them that attacking us is a fool's game that will only get them millions of deaths.
Except for Israel, the ME is filled with low lives.
Al Brooks, BleedingHeartlib | 12.20.12 @ 5:59PM
At any rate, we're stuck in Afghanistan because if we pull out, it's another Cambodia.
JimH| 12.20.12 @ 8:03AM
Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates made the obvious point that anyone advocating another land war in Asia should “have his head examined.” - Nice to know our foreign policy was derived from watching The Princess Bride.
c. j. acworth| 12.20.12 @ 8:45AM
"Billions of dollars later, nothing has changed".
Sounds like the result of most government policy, foreign or domestic.
And yes, get our guys out of there.
Simon Templar| 12.20.12 @ 11:31AM
Sunshine? You mean appeasement and extortion.
Simon Templar| 12.20.12 @ 11:35AM
Younger South Koreans are the least concerned. They don’t fear the North...
They should.
Sounds like they raised the same generation of idiots that we did.
William R. Barker | 12.20.12 @ 12:09PM
GET... OUT...!
Occam's Tool| 12.20.12 @ 4:44PM
The South Korean youths have also attacked our troops.
Our major enemy, our number one foe,are the Islamists. South Korea should live in the bed it made. Notably, PSY, the famous Korean rapper, is known also for his anti-American videos.
If they don't want us defending them, we have MUCH better use for those troops---backing up Border Patrol in the South, for example.
Toinfinityandbeyond| 12.22.12 @ 3:57AM
Hey OTool~
If you don't know what you are talking about. Just STFU. Many US troops has been raping girls in every country they go serve.
SteveInFL| 12.26.12 @ 1:35PM
They have also been dying so ungrateful creeps like you can run your mouth. So why don't you go crawl back in your hole coward.