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OK, I'll try it one more time....there are reasons beyond first line defense of SK for keeping troops there. The two Koreas will unite, it is just a matter of time. The form and political tone of the new country will be of significant importance to us. If we are not there we will have little influence.
Our force on the peninsula is our only mainland Asia presence. You want to surrender that. Others think we should keep it as a balance against China and as assurance for Taiwan and Japan. I agree with that position but I am willing to hear the wisdom behind your position of abandonment of our last ground position in Asia.
If the SKs don't want us there, why stay ? 35,000 troops won't make a difference to the NKs and we've signaled as much by pulling the bulk of the troops back from the DMZ. We exited Japan for the most part and it didn't self destruct. SK is sending dollars to NK to feed their army, so which side are they on ? We're not surrendering anything we own. I can see a point where we will repeat the PI experience if we overstay our welcome.