Posted on 12/15/2002 9:11:33 AM PST by Enemy Of The State
Tens of Thousands S.Koreans Participate in Anti-American Rallies
Tens of thousands of South Koreans rallied in main cities of the country on Saturday to mourn for two teenage girls run over and killed by a US armored vehicle, reported by the South Korean news agency Yonhap News.
Over 300,000 people took part in demonstrations at 57 different domestic and alien sites, who were joined by overseas South Koreans in 12 foreign countries such as the United States, Germany and Australia, Yonhap News reported.
Besides large amount of protestors gathered in the City Hall incentral Seoul near the US embassy, thousands of protestors turned out also in Ban, Daegu, Gwangju and other cities housing US military bases.
In Seoul, police authorities posted riot troops from early hours, circling the City Hall and the nearby US embassy and installing police lines to prevent violent outbreaks, the report said.
Saturday's protest was the largest of the demonstrations since two American servicemen who run the armored vehicle were acquitted of negligent homicide charges by a US military court late November.
Two 14-year-old girls, Shim Mi-sun and Shin Hyo-soon, were walking along a rural road on June 13 when they were struck and instantly killed by the US military vehicle.
The acquittal of the sergeants soon ignited angry demonstrations throughout the country, anti-American mood spread quickly all over South Korea.
Amid growing concerns that the anti-US sentiments are reaching a danger level, US President George W. Bush has expressed his apologies for three times. But the apologies did not satisfied with South Korean people's demand of the revision of Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that governs legal status of 37,000 US forces stationed in South Korea.
A sub-committee of the South Korea-US Joint Committe Thursday held talks and reached initial consensus on improvement of SOFA. It will held another talks next week.
During the Cold War we needed a presence in the area to stymie China and the USSR. Technology allows us to protect our interests from our own territory so . . . I'm sick of our humanitarian, good-will efforts being attacked.
I say we skip town and let the South Koreans learn first-hand that it is THEY who need us and not vice-versa.
My guess is the silent majority of South Koreans who appreciate our presence and know it's only our 40,000 troops that's keeping North Korea from annexing them will finally speak up and put a halt to all this US-bashing.
In any event, the world has changed and we don't need to have a military presence where we're not wanted nor respected.
... and millions of others didn't.
The American taxpayer gets screwed either way.
That's why they protest 2 girls accidentally killed by US Soldiers, but don't bother to demonstrate when North Korea starves four or five million Koreans while building A bombs...
There's one other consideration...
Currently, North Korea is on the ragged edge of collapsing under its own xenophobic communism. A few more years and that problem may solve itself.
But if they were able to invade South Korea without consequence and forcibly appropriate its resources, material/food stockpiles, manpower, and robust industrial capacity, it could continue to build its war machine for another decade at the very least.
We'd probably still have the Soviet Union to contend with today if in the mid 1980's Reagan had pulled us out of Europe and let the Soviets take what they needed to continue their failed policies.
China doesn't need Navy bases or airfields there, and I don't know that the South has all that much in the way of natural resources. If it falls back into the Middle Kingdom (as it would if the Nikkies came south, eventually) it wouldn't be nearly as harmful as Chinese control over Taiwan, the Spratleys, etc. etc.
But I just can't get over the feeling that if 30+ thousand of our troops already PAID for that land in blood we da** well shouldn't just leave it to the hordes.
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