Diplomacy with a gun to the head

The Bush Administration way... Oh, and make sure that the echo chamber frat boys like George Will spew "anti-Americanism" rhetoric to drive the point home.

Increasingly virulent anti-Americanism there--in a nation which would not exist had not 33,667 Americans died to preserve it--raises this question: Why are 37,000 American military personnel still stationed there? They are far too few if North Korea's army, the world's third largest, attacks, and they are far more than necessary to serve as a ``trip wire.'' Actually, no U.S. boots need be on the peninsula to guarantee a U.S. commitment to defend South Korea. But the anti-Americanism, and South Korea's prosperity and North Korea's penury, may cause reconsideration of that commitment.

That's a sure way to make friends and influence people. Nice one folks. Just admit that you've strained our military beyond our ability to capably maintain previous commitments. I mean, that would be the honest thing to say anyway. I hope America wakes the hell up and fires these morons in November.

US May Cut Third of Troops In South Korea But conservative editorial writers and politicians are already accusing the liberal government of President Roh Moo Hyun of allowing anti-American views to flourish unchecked, provoking Washington to cut back sharply on the American military presence. Conservative South Koreans are also complaining that the United States is surrendering a bargaining chip that would have been useful in nuclear weapons talks with North Korea, even though Pentagon planners say South Korea's security would not be affected. The Grand National Party, a conservative opposition party that has traditionally supported the American military presence, on Monday described the troop cut plan as "shocking and surprising." But not all shared that view. Outside the Defense Ministry in Seoul on Monday, protesters took the news as a chance to rally against the American troop presence. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has been actively drawing up new designs for American forces worldwide, not just in South Korea, to take advantage of new technology to more rapidly assess threats and more quickly move troops to meet them. The Pentagon has also proposed moving two Army divisions out of Germany and making other changes to European-based forces to reflect different security needs since the end of the cold war.