Mission
Statement |
U.S. Troops: Moving In, Moving OutKatharine H.S. Moon January 15, 2003 While American families kiss their loved ones in uniform goodbye to go the long way toward Iraq, minority voices in the U.S. and South Korea call for U.S. troop withdrawal from the peninsula. Troops are being deployed to the Middle East with a war-fighting strategy in mind, but calls for removal of troops from Korea are knee-jerk responses, based neither on strategic assessment nor political analysis. The causes of tension are different, as are U.S. interests and obligations in the two parts of the world. The military presence in Korea grew out of alliance commitments and the proven threat of Communism during the Korean War. But U.S. military intentions toward Iraq involve neither invitation nor public evidence of threats to the U.S. and its war against terrorism. Iraqis have been enduring oppression by their own countrymen, but Korea was ruthlessly oppressed for 36 years by foreigners. "Freedom" at U.S. hands would have a very different meaning for Iraqis than it has for Koreans. American lives and guns helped Koreans achieve freedom from Japanese colonial rule and Communist invasion. And yet, Koreans today chafe at the presence of 37,000 U.S. troops. The current tensions in the U.S.-Korea alliance have much to teach us about the stationing of our troops on foreign soil. Lesson 1: Do not expect gratitude. Bluntly, some Americans are pissed off and even "hurt" by S. Korean protesters yelling "Yankee Go Home." After all, young American lives were lost, precious funds spent, and consumer markets made available to Korean exports. Now, Korea is an OECD country that boasts internet cafes at every street corner. Where is the gratitude? Koreans do remember American largesse, but they wonder, How many times for how many years do we have to say thank you? And what of Korean soldiers' lives that were lost in the war? What of Korean sacrifices made for the achievement of freedom and wealth? And should Koreans, Okinawans, Filipinos, Thais and Vietnamese be grateful to American GIs who fondled their women as prostitutes or wives and abandoned their flesh and blood? The legacy of U.S. military presence in Asia includes tens of thousands of Amerasian children who have been unclaimed by their fathers. Gratitude is a precious sentiment among individuals. But it should not be a prerequisite for the constructive maintenance of an alliance, and it will not come from people who have not asked us to free them from Mr. Hussein. Lesson 2: The personal is political. Americans have short historical memory. Perhaps that is our strength. We get over and get on with it. Most of the world, however, lives with history. They remember and pass down to generations the small and large insults made knowingly or unknowingly by Americans in uniform. Drunken brawls and racial slurs. Americans playing teacher (of capitalism, democracy, law) to the conquered or beholden, never admitting that we can learn from them. The S. Korean protests over the accidental killing of two schoolchildren by U.S. servicemen reflect the frustrations and resentments of the past as much as disagreement with current U.S. policies toward their peninsula. U.S. soldiers are told by their commanders that they are ambassadors to their host country. But they need to be trained to live up to that privilege. U.S. power may come through the gun, but it cannot be sustained by weapons. Interactions with locals that convey cultural sensitivity and gestures of humility, concerted and steadfast efforts at reconstruction and nation-building are long-term instruments of power and influence. Bosnia has forced us to learn that lesson. Lesson 3: Want democracy? Be ready for criticism. Spreading democracy is one of the rationales for U.S. military intervention abroad. But nurturing democracy is not America's strong suit. In Korea, we directly and indirectly supported military dictators who ran roughshod over their own people, after we helped them win the war. In recent years, South Koreans have channeled their national energy not only to building Hyundai cars but also to empowering citizens. They have liberalized laws that once stifled political dissent and criticism of American troops. Korean dictators protected American soldiers from public scrutiny. Now, countless civic organizations exercise their muscles, and many vigilantly watch the U.S. forces. And what do people do with new political freedoms? They criticize their own government and ours. To ask them to do otherwise is un-American. |
