The Death of an Alliance, Part XVII

“Washington needs to forget its obsession that South Korea has to take sides if the U.S and China are involved in a conflict.”

I’ll just let you digest that one.

Now, Korea may well reasonably draw that conclusion and make it known to Washington through diplomatic channels that that “Mutual Defense Pact” stuff shouldn’t be taken at face value. In fact, I’ve advocated us informing the South Koreans of the same thing and drastically downsizing our military commitment to South Korea. But do “allies” really say that sort of thing in a press conference?

In the same story, another installment of “NSC Amateur Hour:”

Responding to criticism from the U.S. that Korea lacks the weight to play a decisive role, he said a country could play a balancing role despite lacking economic, political and military strength. He added a stabilizing role was the most realistic security strategy for Korea to survive on the global stage.