Retired ROK Navy Captain Advocates for Seoul to Join International Effort to Open Strait of Hormuz
Here is an opinion piece in the Korea Times on what the ROK should do with the issue of deploying troops to reopen the Strait of Hormuz:
Korea faces a dilemma over whether to deploy military assets to the Strait of Hormuz. The alliance with the United States is too important for Seoul to simply disregard Washington’s request for a military contribution. At the same time, dispatching a warship would carry serious consequences. Such a deployment could be interpreted as Korea joining U.S. military action against Iran, unnecessarily turning Tehran into an adversary.
The multinational maritime mission being developed by the United Kingdom and France deserves close attention. Early reports indicated that roughly 15 countries were involved in operational planning, while a considerably larger number later joined diplomatic consultations and expressed political support. Korea has also endorsed an international statement calling for freedom of navigation in the Strait and has discussed possible contributions with the United States, Britain and France. Seoul’s choice, therefore, need not be reduced to a simple question of accepting or rejecting a U.S. request.
The most important feature of the U.K.-France initiative is its stated effort to distinguish itself from U.S. military operations against Iran. Its purpose is not to attack or retaliate against Iran, but to ensure the safe passage of civilian vessels and remove mines and other threats to navigation. The proposed mission would focus on defensive activities such as merchant-vessel escorts, mine clearance and maritime and aerial surveillance. It is also intended to begin only after a ceasefire, consent by the relevant parties and other conditions necessary for a sufficiently permissive operational environment are in place.
That distinction is crucial for Korea. Sending a Korean warship to support U.S. operations against Iran would carry a fundamentally different political and military meaning from joining a multinational effort to restore an international sea lane. The former would expose Seoul to accusations that it had effectively become a party to America’s war. The latter could be justified as international cooperation to protect a global public good vital to the world economy.
You can read more at the link, but the waiting for a ceasefire sounds like a way to avoid doing the deployment. We already had a ceasefire and the international community had over a month to do something and instead did nothing before the Iranians decided to violate the ceasefire. There is likely going to no longer be any more ceasefires since the Iranian regime already violated one. The Trump administration now seems firmly committed to the slow economic strangulation of the regime which means no ceasefires.
If Korea wants to do something that is low risk to their troops, but still beneficial to their position in the Middle East, I propose they send anti-drone and cruise missile defense units to help defend the United Arab Emirates. The UAE has been a long-term economic and defense partners with South Korea. The Lee administration can frame the deployment as assisting the UAE and protecting ROK economic interests and not joining the US war against Iran. Additionally, this would showcase ROK military technology and provide valuable real-world experience against the same hybrid threats North Korea would use during a crisis on the peninsula.
I guess we will see if President Lee has the political courage for such a deployment, or rather, just be like the rest of the world and hide from the Thugs of Tehran.
Waiting for thieves to “see the light” and “turn over a new leaf” without the incentive offered by a policeman’s hand on their shoulder is a fantasy even naive young children don’t believe. Likewise, expecting apocalyptic murder cults to suddenly stop shooting missiles and funding international terror without military invention is just intellectual flatulence.
The UK and France don’t collectively have a mission-ready force that could challenge anyone—and could not even defend themselves, much less international commerce, in the affected area. Likewise both nations are currently controlled by strong Muslim factions in their governments, who will never fight Iran, even if fired upon.
For South Korea to deny even a symbolic gesture (minesweepers, corvettes, or logistics vessels) to assist the US in this matter is a shameful display of ingratitude and frankly cowardice on the part of Lee’s administration.
In fact, the Trump Administration would be righteous to block oil shipments, during the current conflict, to any nation who did not join the US efforts in some means.
Translation;
Buy oil from Russia. I need the money the Russians promised me in return for supporting their cause.
“Translation;
Buy oil from Russia. I need the money the Russians promised me in return for supporting their cause.”
That’s a gay mistranslation.
A more accurate translation is, “no oil for you”.
But that is a poor solution.
The real solution is to help countries do their part with a tariff on their products to help fund the war.
It could even be turned into a profit center.
Korea needs to pump up their mincing little balls and:
– Tell Iran how much their relationship is valued so Korea will not support attacks on them. However global standards like freedom of navigation are bigger than all of us so Korea will be there supporting it. Please remember our special relationship and don’t attack us because we don’t want a gust of popular feeling to demand retaliation from our weak politicians.
– As valuable as our relationship is, attacks on other countries also violate international standards that may one day apply to Korea and will be defended against. (Korea needs to show off their defensive technology and secure orders in the budding middle eastern market). We hope our defensive systems are respected enough to keep the local peace. If not, they will likely work. Don’t make us demonstrate our offensive systems.
Korea is missing the boat in a big way if they don’t demonstrate what their defense industry can do.
@setnaffa and the Setnaffarians are no friend of Korea.
We smarter Koreans have seen through the ruse and known this all along.
The Setnaffarians should drop the “we are doing this in Korea’s best interests” bullshit.
“We smarter Koreans have seen through the ruse and known this all along.”
OOOooo! The roooze has been seen through!
What exactly did you see?
But, my, how the turntables!
As an anti-Korean Chinabot always pushing the option that is worse for Korea, it is YOUR ruse that has been seen through!
– you hate that Trump ended Iran’s regional control through terrorism and nuclear ambitions
– you support your ally Iran to control the straits and make empty complaints against anyone who stands in the way
– you support higher gas prices for Korea to ensure the economy suffers
– you don’t want Korea selling defensive systems to nations that are primarily defending against China and their allies
Commie.
You will rue the roguish route your rude rouge ruse wrought.
CH, I am going to seize and redistribute your last comment.
And here we go:
The rain had turned the old coastal road into a ribbon of black mud by the time Captain Elias Vane reached Blackthorn Manor.
He had not come to arrest Lord Roderick Vale. Not yet.
Vane carried something far more dangerous than a warrant: proof.
For three years, Vale had been financing smugglers, bribing customs officers, and secretly selling British naval plans to a foreign power. But Vale was clever. Every witness who might testify against him had disappeared, and every document that could convict him had somehow found its way into the fire.
Tonight, however, Vane had the one thing Vale could not burn.
A ledger.
Vane entered through the library window and found the house strangely silent. The fire had burned low, and the grandfather clock ticked loudly in the darkness.
Then came a voice.
“You’re late, Captain.”
Vale stepped from behind the curtains, holding a pistol.
Vane smiled. “And you’re predictable.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. You always hide behind someone else’s courage.”
Vale’s expression hardened.
“You have my ledger,” he said.
“I do.”
“Then you have nothing. By morning, you will be dead, the ledger will be destroyed, and I shall be three hundred miles from here.”
Vane reached inside his coat.
Vale raised the pistol.
“Careful.”
Vane withdrew not the ledger, but a small brass whistle.
He blew it.
At once, the manor doors burst open. Constables poured into the library from every direction.
Vale stared at Vane in disbelief.
“You arrogant fool! How did you—”
“Your servants,” Vane replied. “Half of them have been working for the Crown for months.”
Vale’s pistol dropped slightly.
Then he laughed.
“You think this ends anything? My associates will never permit me to stand trial. They will silence me before I reach the courthouse.”
“Perhaps,” said Vane.
Vale’s smile returned.
“You see? Even you understand.”
“No,” Vane said. “I understand that you have misunderstood your position.”
Vane nodded toward the fireplace.
The flames suddenly died.
Behind the grate was another ledger.
Vale’s face went pale.
“The second ledger,” Vane said. “Names, payments, dates, shipping routes. Your entire operation.”
“You planted it.”
“No. Your bookkeeper did.”
Vale looked toward the door.
His bookkeeper stood there beside the constables.
“You betrayed me?”
The man shook his head.
“No, my lord. You betrayed yourself. You trusted everyone because you assumed everyone could be bought.”
Vale sank into a chair.
Vane stepped forward and took the pistol from the floor.
“You’ve spent years believing cleverness was the same thing as intelligence,” he said. “It isn’t.”
Vale glared at him.
“Go to hell.”
Vane turned toward the door, then paused.
He looked back at the defeated lord.
“You will rue the roguish route your rude rouge ruse wrought.”
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Okay, now I’m going to write a series of books based on similar phrases…
We’ll call it “Fair Use” under the US Copyright laws…
Purloining pithy prose, preposterously proclaiming permissionless privilege plotting profitable publication, potentially projects profoundly problematic personal principles permanently past possible pardon.
That’s a worthy challenge!! How about this (begging GI’s patience):
The courtroom was unusually crowded for a case involving nothing more dangerous than a manuscript.
At the defendant’s table sat Reginald P. Fallow, a minor publisher with an unfortunate habit of regarding other people’s words as communal property. His latest venture had been a collection of essays that had sold rather better than expected.
Unfortunately, most of the essays had been written by someone else.
The plaintiff, Professor Ambrose Wetherby, sat nearby with the grim satisfaction of a man who had spent thirty years cultivating footnotes and now expected justice.
The judge adjusted his spectacles.
“Mr. Fallow,” he said, “the evidence appears rather conclusive. Professor Wetherby’s original manuscript was submitted to your publishing house. Two months later, you published a remarkably similar manuscript under your own name.”
“Coincidence, Your Honor.”
“The two manuscripts contain the same twelve essays.”
“Editorial convergence.”
“They contain the same sentences.”
“Parallel inspiration.”
“They even contain the same typographical error on page eighty-seven.”
Fallow paused.
“That,” he said carefully, “was a particularly persuasive typographical error.”
A ripple of laughter passed through the courtroom.
The judge did not laugh.
“Mr. Fallow, did you write this book?”
“I contributed substantially.”
“Did you write the first essay?”
“No.”
“The second?”
“No.”
“The third?”
“No.”
“Any of them?”
Fallow shifted in his chair.
“I supervised the intellectual atmosphere.”
The judge leaned back.
“Did Professor Wetherby give you permission to publish his work?”
“Well, not precisely.”
“Did he sell you the rights?”
“Not technically.”
“Did you ask him?”
“Eventually.”
“When?”
“After publication.”
The judge removed his spectacles.
“After publication?”
“It seemed administratively efficient.”
Professor Wetherby muttered something about thieves, pirates, and unusually literate magpies.
The judge consulted the file.
“You also advertised this book as ‘the definitive work of the foremost living scholar on medieval jurisprudence.’”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Professor Wetherby is not the author?”
“No.”
“Nor is he living?”
Fallow swallowed.
“He was when I wrote the advertisement.”
The courtroom erupted.
The judge struck the bench with his gavel.
“Order!”
Silence returned.
The judge looked down at the defendant with the weary expression of a man who had encountered every possible variety of foolishness and had just discovered a new one.
“Mr. Fallow, you have not merely infringed copyright. You have demonstrated an almost heroic misunderstanding of property, permission, scholarship, and basic honesty.”
He paused.
Then, with magnificent deliberation, the judge pronounced sentence:
“Purloining pithy prose, preposterously proclaiming permissionless privilege plotting profitable publication, potentially projects profoundly problematic personal principles permanently past possible pardon.”
https://www.twz.com/news-features/houthis-stranglehold-on-strategic-bab-al-mandab-strait-grows-stronger
Well it seems that your dear Trump has gotten himself into a very big mess.
He obviously hasn’t defeated Iran nor ended Iran’s regional control through terrorism and nuclear ambitions.
He made it more worse.
As for @setnaffa , @GIKorea , and the Setnaffarians they are still in a fantasy world and can’t seem to get out of it.
Or maybe they don’t want to leave their fantasy world, because they want to sleep well at night without worrying about wokeness, liberal ideals, and being replaced by immigrants.
“These moves against the Saudi Arabian-backed forces that previously held these areas could further cement the Houthis’ control over the narrow chokepoint to the Gulf of Aden, where the group has already imposed a blockade on Saudi oil exports.”
1. Less than 5% of America’s imports and exports go/went through the Suez canal… not an American problem. Maybe somebody should do something.
2. As today happens to be 9/11, I am reminded that the hijackers were Saudi. Anything bad that happens to Saudis (or Yemenis) is also somebody else’s problem. Too bad it isn’t a bigger problem.
“the U.S. being stretched thin in its ongoing fight against Iran.”
American military doctrine has been to be able to fight two major wars at the same time. It is doubtful they are “stretched thin” with a small percentage of ships in the area watching satellite feeds and radar screens. A small percentage of the air force does some live fire training now and then.
Don’t believe the anti-American media.
“Combined with Tehran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz, this threatens to add to the Islamic Republic’s command over the flow of oil from the Middle East. It is a maximum pressure campaign on the U.S. and global markets…”
America is escorting tankers and Iran can’t get any ships past the blockade. This is the Men in Women’s Sports definition of “control”.
After 8 sunken and disabled tankers, Iran is finally considering that attacking everyone is not sustainable policy.
The beauty is Trump is sinking tankers but not attacking other oil infrastructure.
This means when the war is over, Iran can quickly supply oil. But without tankers, America will decide who gets it.
China, none for you… try Venezuela… doh!
Spain, sorry.
Japan, how much do you need.
Korea, let me recall if you helped… ooooh.
It seems ChickenHead is scared shitless to admit the undeniable fact that Trump’s needless war with Iran has been a failure.
“It seems ChickenHead is scared shitless to admit the undeniable fact that Trump’s needless war with Iran has been a failure.”
Ok. Give me your success and failure criteria.
No children were transitioned?
The war with Iran was needless. But it was never started by Donald Trump. It was started by the Iranian followers of Ayatollah Khomeini during the feckless Jimmy Carter Administration. And it has continued essentially unanswered until America finally had enough.