Korea

My last overseas assignment was in Korea. Things were pretty humdrum then, and I wondered why U.S. troops were even there. I gather that we still have about 37,000 troops in South Korea, and I'm still wondering why we're there.

South Korea is an economic powerhouse in Asia with a high standard of living and a dedicated military. North Korea, from what we're told, is a backward, impoverished country hobbled by a communist dictatorship.

Does South Korea really need the U.S. to protect it? I don't think it does, and even if I'm wrong, I think it's time for the South Koreans to take care of themselves.

In addition to the cost to the taxpayers, stationing American troops in another country during peacetime creates enormous PR problems. Local sentiment regarding our troops is divided, of course, between those who make money off of the GI's and those who's nationalistic pride is at stake.

My experience in Korea convinced me that the Koreans' gratitude for the U.S. having saved the country from a communist takeover has worn very thin over the years since 1953. Every time our military activities interfere with the daily lives of Koreans or even when a GI misbehaves in public, that gratitude gets a little thinner.

There have been reports of serious demonstrations against the U.S. presence in South Korea for many years now. Young Koreans can't relate to the fear and suffering their parents and grandparents experienced over 50 years ago.

It's time for us to leave. If the South Koreans can't defend themselves from the North Koreans....well, maybe they don't deserve the freedom we've provided them all these years.