The latest flare up between North and South Korea has led the New York Times to say that the reason China props up the North is that it does not want an American ally, the South, on its border. In light of this and South Korea’s poor treatment of President Obama during his recent visit there indicating that South Korea is feeling its oats perhaps it is time to evaluate a new strategy for the peninsula.
The U.S. should withdraw all its troops from South Korea thereby removing the perceived threat to China. China will then stop its support for North Korea and that country will collapse on its own.
The U.S. spends an untold amount of its military budget in South Korea. There are almost 29,000 U.S. troops there compared to South Korea’s troop strength of 3,695,000 accounting for less than 1% of the combine allied force there. The American presence would hardly be missed. Yet, without its troops there America would save billions of dollars and the savings could be applied directly to the U.S. deficit which then removes the perceived threat the U.S. has toward China which is carrying a great deal of our debt.
In effect what you have done is defuse a time bomb that has been ticking for decades and it only takes one move to get the ball moving between the U.S., China, South Korea and North Korea finally and truly ending a war that should have officially ended in the 1950s. Remember the war did not conclude it came to an end by an armistice or if you will a seize fire. In effect a 60 year stalemate is broken due to the U.S. troop withdrawal with peace breaking out and the suffering in the North coming to an end.
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