EDITORIAL from the JoongAng Daily on Oct. 28)

Timing troop deployments

A senior U.S. military commander disclosed that Washington was discussing with
Seoul the redeployment of an undetermined number of American soldiers in Korea to
Afghanistan.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
answering questions about a possible additional troop redeployment during a
recent visit to U.S. troops here, said that it is ???one of the issues in
discussion with the Koreans.???
The reassignment of U.S. troops, whose numbers here hover around 28,500, would
mark the second pullout after U.S. troops were sent to Iraq, and there are fears
that such a move could undermine Korea???s security readiness. Moreover, in a
recent security meeting, Seoul agreed to assume operational control of Korean
forces in wartime from the U.S. by April 2012.
The U.S. has been hinting at a gradual disengagement of land forces in Korea as
part of its Global Defense Posture Review, something it has pursued since 2000,
so as to apply its overseas combat forces more quickly to high-conflict areas.
The two countries first commented on the idea of the ???strategic flexibility???
of the U.S. forces in Korea after an annual security meeting in 2003. The concept
basically indicates that the U.S. will realign and reposition its military
operations in Korea toward a broader global posture.
In 2006, Seoul finally announced its compliance with Washington???s changed
military strategy in return for the U.S. assurance that Korean troops would not
be pulled into any regional conflict in the Northeast Asian region that the
Korean people did not want to be involved in. It literally gave its approval to
the idea that the U.S. can move American troops stationed here anywhere else at
any time.
We are not attempting to raise a stink about this. But both countries need to
reaffirm that the U.S. deterrent against North Korea will not be undermined by
U.S. troop deployments. We are at a critical moment, with tension on the
peninsula heightened by North Korea???s active nuclear development. We must move
more quickly to beef up the capabilities of the Korean forces.
The U.S. must avoid scheduling the transfer of wartime operational control at the
same time as troop redeployments to the Middle East. We believe this is another
reason to defer the transfer year, because the ???strategic flexibility??? of the
U.S. military presence in Korea means that the size of the U.S. combat force here
will decrease.
(END)