By David Axe
Seoul is not the first government to attempt this sleight of hand in the interest of deploying forces to Afghanistan. The Dutch government deployed a similar heavy PRT to the southern part of the country soon after the US-led invasion in 2001. The Hague sold the deployment as a strictly peaceful, reconstruction exercise—never mind the jet fighters, artillery and helicopter gunships that accompanied the engineers. The rhetoric of peace was the only way to avoid a popular backlash against the operation.
The Taliban poked holes in The Hague’s cover story when hundreds of armed extremists attacked Dutch positions in Uruzgan Province in June 2007. It was one of the largest pitched battles of the year for NATO forces. Several Dutch soldiers died, while more than a hundred Afghan civilians were killed when the Dutch fired artillery and dropped bombs on heavily populated areas. In the aftermath of the fighting, elements in the Dutch government advocated cancelling the Afghanistan deployment; it took more than two years of political manoeuvring, but in February The Hague announced it would evacuate its troops this year.
As long as Seoul pursues a similar strategy to disguise its growing war role, it runs the risk of a political conflagration similar to The Hague’s, if and when South Korean forces come under attack in Afghanistan.
US Cover
South Korea is hardly striking out on its own as a burgeoning power. At every step, Seoul’s closest ally is providing cover. The United States has offered support at every level—even at Bagram, where US Air Force security personnel protect the South Korean hospital. ‘They do a good job for us,’ says nurse Chon Jung Ae, referring to the US guards.
Seoul’s military expansion has a strong foundation in the continued presence of US forces in the South. The strong US military contingent in South Korea ensures the country can direct resources towards other conflicts, without jeopardizing its security vis-a-vis the North.
More than 25,000 US troops are permanently based in the Republic of Korea to help defend against any North Korean attack. Washington considers the defence of South Korea so important that the Pentagon has barred US troops in the country from ever deploying to Iraq or Afghanistan. ‘Our number-one priority in Korea is to be prepared to deter and defend,’ US Army Gen. Skip Sharp, Commander of U.S. Forces Korea, told The Diplomat.
Still, Sharp said the US-South Korean alliance is ‘definitely blossoming into something larger’ than mere territorial defence. ‘I really do think we are looking at what kind of training capability we need on the [Republic of Korea] side, not only against the North Korean threat, but future threats as well.’
This year’s Afghanistan deployment is a big step towards a South Korean military that routinely participates in a wider range of missions abroad. Major weapons purchases are consistent with this trend, and might point to an even greater world security role for Seoul in coming years. In 2007, South Korea commissioned the first of three small aircraft carriers. If and when Seoul buys naval fighters to fly from them, the 14,000-ton vessels will be among the most powerful in Asia—and capable of projecting South Korea’s influence all over the world.
By then, no doubt, the rhetorical veil in place in Afghanistan will be both unnecessary, and impossible to maintain.
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Dan
I fear that it is only a matter of time before the US and South Korea are at war with North Korea. We should have settled the issue in the 1990s and Bill Clinton was poised to do precisely that until “President Peanut” Jimmy Carter intervened and saved North Korea’s bacon. Now they have at least a few rudimentary nuclear weapons, which will make the task a lot riskier. (Gee, thanks a lot, Jimmy!) But the longer we wait to cut out this particular cancer, the messier it will be.
I say we take out Iran’s government first BEFORE they get the bomb, and then turn our attentions to North Korea. Unfortunately, I don’t think our resident “Commander-In-Chief” has the guts to do what needs to be done in either place.
It’s times like these that I really do miss George W. Bush. He might have screwed the pooch on domestic policy, but in foreign policy he saw the world as it is, not as we wish it could be, and wasn’t afraid to act.
Marcase
As always, excellent piece Mr. Axe.
This ‘Asian military rise’ can also be seen in Singapore, which is also deploying more troops not just to Afghanistan (under the Dutch TFU umbrella) but also providing combat support elsewhere.
I applaud and encourage the ROK to project more forces, but the threat North Korea poses cannot be underestimated.