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From the Stars and Stripes:

Prince Harry learned last week that his royal status will curry no favor with Army and Air Force Exchange Service employees — unless he calls ahead.

The prince, who made an unannounced visit to the home of the 48th Fighter Wing last Sunday, was part of a contingent of British troops turned away from the register for failure to have a proper American identification card to shop at an AAFES facility.

“As soon as the first soldier got turned away, the prince and the other soldier left the line,” said AAFES spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Konop.

A local British paper reported that Prince Harry was trying to buy an iPod, Apple’s popular music player.

I only have one question about this, how is it AAFES can turn away Prince Harry, but for some reason can never seem to turn away an ajumma in the commissary who shows up every week with a cart full of ox tails, pork strips, Spam, Herbal Essence shampoo, Ritz crackers, among a host of other items popular in the Korean blackmarket?

From the Chosun:

In a faraway country, surrounded by desert in all directions, the South Korean soldiers hung the poster to express their longing for their families back home. "We’re often stressed here,” a senior officer said. “It’s an ascetic life in the desert" — just as monks meditate deep in the mountains to seek after religious truth. Daiman officers are racking their brains to prevent combat stress-related accidents.

Combat stress is a mental condition soldiers start to suffer around three months after they are dispatched to combat zones. They feel depressed and lose their temper easily over mere trifles, resulting in firearms-related accidents. This kind of stress is the biggest concern for senior officers with troops stationed overseas. The condition is common among the 2,500 South Korean soldiers stationed in eight areas, including Daiman, Irbil in northern Iraq, and the Dongui Medical Unit and the Dasan Engineering Unit in Afghanistan, where Sgt. Yoon Jang-ho was last week killed in a bomb attack.

Combat stress from making toilets?  First of all, if the soldiers feel like their monks in the mountains meditating, that just shows they have to much time on their hands.  When I was in Iraq I was constantly busy on missions, patrols, guard duty, meetings, etc.  I had no time to be a monk and meditate and treasured what little sleep I was able to get. 

Let me also remind everyone that in Irbil where the ROK Army contingent is stationed is not a combat zone.  It is located in Iraqi Kurdistan.  Kurdistan is where the US soldiers go for R&R.  There is a hotel on a lake up in Kurdistan where US soldiers can go to chill out for a few days before going back to their units.  So basically the Korean combat zone is the US military R&R zone.  The Daiman unit mentioned in the article is in Kuwait which also is not a combat zone.  Really the only ROK Army unit in a combat zone is the engineers and medics at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, which was proven with the casualty of SSG Yoon Chang-ho this past week. 

If the Korean government would let the soldiers deployed abroad, who all volunteered to be there, act like soldiers, they probably wouldn’t be "depressed and losing their temper easily" or thinking they are monks up in the mountains with "combat stress".  I have said this since the day the Zaytun unit was first deployed, if Korea isn’t going to allow the soldiers to be soldiers because the government does not have the political will to accept casualties, than don’t send them.  The proud ROK Army deserves better than appear to be a window dressing Army.

OFK has the latest on the failures of the US State Department to aid North Korean refugees in China.  The US Consulate in Shenyang’s actions directly led to six North Korean refugees being captured and returned to at best a life in gulag in North Korea.

This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but the NY Times has now joined the astroturfing campaign to create a perception that there is a “growing” movement in the military to oppose the war in Iraq. If you haven’t read about the astroturfing campaign then you really need to read my prior posting on Exposing the GI Fifth Column, before reading any further because you probably won’t understand half the things I’m about to talk about.

In this NY Times column they continue the media campaign to create an image of this “growing” anti-war movement in the military:

In a small but growing sign of dissent, a group of active-duty military personnel and reservists, including many who have served in Iraq, is denouncing the war and asking Congress for the prompt withdrawal of troops.

The service members, who number more than 1,600, have sent an Appeal for Redress to their Congressional representatives, a form of protest permitted by military rules. Most of those who signed the appeal, at www.appealforredress.org, are enlisted soldiers in the Army, from the lowest to the highest ranks.

(…)

The protest, which was started in October by two active-duty service members and is sponsored by three antiwar groups, initially drew 65 signatures, growing to more than 1,300 by February. This week, after the CBS News program 60 Minutes reported on the appeal, about 300 more active-duty soldiers joined the campaign, said Petty Officer Third Class Jonathan Hutto of the Navy, a co-founder of the group behind the appeal.

Look who has popped up again our man Jonathan Hutto. Notice no mention in the NY Times column about Hutto’s past Amnesty International and anti-war activities prior to enlisting. Also notice no mention was made of the fact that a real grassroots effort to counter the Appeal for Redress fifth column by the milblogs, Appeal for Courage, has nearly equaled their petition. Appeal for Courage has only been active for two weeks and does not have access to big money, the largest liberal public relations firm, 200 newspapers, CBS, Yahoo, and now the NY Times backing it like Appeal for Redress has. Plus Appeal for Redress has been active since last October. The real “growing” movement is Appeal for Courage which is something that will never grace the pages of the NY Times.

Now let’s take a look at who else is mentioned in the article:

There is a sense of betrayal, said Specialist Linsay Burnett, 26, who recently returned from Iraq with the First Brigade combat team of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. The division is readying for its third deployment.

These soldiers stand up to fight, to protect their country, but we are now on the fifth reason as to why it is we are in Iraq, added Specialist Burnett, who has served as a public affairs specialist and as a military journalist focusing primarily on the infantry. How many reasons are we going to come up with for keeping us over there?

A new name, Specialist Linsay Burnett, so who exactly is this person that is able to get quoted in the NY Times? Via great work from Blackfive we now know exactly who Linsay Burnett really is:

With the exception of this year’s freshman class, odds are good that everyone else on campus has already met or at least seen senior Linsay Rousseau Burnett. Between her role as Student Assembly president, her numerous on-campus activities and her various off-campus responsibilities, Linsay has become one of the College’s most recognizable students.

Linsay has worked with the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and the Student Environmental Activist Coalition since her freshman year and credits part of her devotion to these causes to the influence of her parents.

“I’ve always been a feminist. My parents raised me that way, and women’s issues have always been important to me,” Linsay said. “[In addition,] my parents are both environmentalists. They work for the National Park Service. Environmental issues are something we can’t ignore, although we try to, especially when there are so many things around here we could change.”

The Tidewater Labor Support Committee is another organization that Linsay has been involved in since her freshman year. She has involved herself extensively with the Living Wage campaign, although the William and Mary Union has lately taken on many of the students’ former duties.

“We’ve accomplished a lot, but we’re not done,” Linsay said. “Now we serve as a voice for the campus.”

Last year Linsay co-founded and co-directed the College branch of Amnesty International, an organization for which she has worked in the past.

“We still have a ways to go [with the organization], but there are some really good people who have taken over leadership this year who will make sure the organization grows and makes a name for itself on campus,” Linsay said.

Imagine that, another Amnesty International member suddenly enlisting into the military after the war in Iraq was already launched. Then both of them just happened to be part of the same “growing” anti-war movement in the military and coincidentally just happened to be quoted together in a NY Times column.

Let’s look further into SPC Burnett’s past like what she was doing right after 9/11:

A group of over 10 students from the College of William and Mary will fast for 56 hours beginning Nov. 7 at 9 a.m. to protest U.S. bombings in Afghanistan. Their protest is part of the “Fast for Peace,” an event taking place simultaneously at colleges nationwide.

Sophomore Amy Smith and junior Derek Bishop, the campus coordinators for the event, along with fellow protesters, will be wearing white armbands to symbolize their solidarity as they begin their liquid-only fast.

“I am outraged by the travesty that occurred on Sept. 11, and my thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims’ families,” Smith said. “However, to respond by killing people, we are committing the same crime that we abhor. As a nation, we seek peace and security, and acts of violence will never be capable of restoring security.”

During the fast, the protesters will be willing to answer questions and explain their actions and beliefs, according to Smith. Smith and Bishop heard about the fast from friends at other colleges and began researching how to involve the College.

“There are currently 10 people that will definitely be fasting, but the list is progressively growing as we get the word out,” junior Linsay Burnett, a participant of the fast, said.

Interesting, let’s dig even deeper into SPC Burnett’s past. Here you can see how on January 24, 2003, less than two months before the beginning of the Iraq War she suddenly resigns as the student assembly president and withdraws from college due to “medical circumstances”:

“Due to medical circumstances, I am withdrawing from school and cannot continue to serve as your president. However, our school needs a strong student voice now more than ever. The cabinet is completely capable of continuing its work in my absence, and this is what I hope they will be able to do. Due to our rather elusive constitution (a new one will take effect next year), it is possible that a new election will be held, a new cabinet picked and all the work from this year wasted. With this unfortunate timing, the work of the newly elected administration could not even take off before the elections in April.

Her “medical circumstances” were serious enough for her to drop out of college, but she is suddenly miraculously healed and wants to serve her country when just a few years prior after 9/11 she was protesting and fasting in response to the US bombings in Afghanistan. I guess anything is possible.

So what did she have to say while deployed in Iraq you might wonder? Well this is what she had to say in December 2005:

Ralph Nader voters are not as scarce in the Army as you might think. I’ve actually met two in previous trips to Iraq. Spc. Linsay Burnett was the third. But that was just the beginning. Burnett, a 2003 graduate of the College of William & Mary, is probably the least likely soldier I have ever met. What caught my attention was that she was reading Johnny Got His Gun, a classic antiwar novel of World War I. Then it turned out that she was a Nader supporter, vegetarian, labor organizer, founder of an Amnesty International chapter, and former war protester. Not the typical model of a modern soldier.

At the time of the initial invasion, Burnett thought it was a mistake.

“When it first happened,” she says, “I was on the streets protesting with everyone else.” She says she was supportive of the effort to remove Saddam Hussein but skeptical about how America went about it.

Today, she supports the military’s efforts to help create a democracy in Iraq. She says she believes the United States is trying to teach the Iraqis useful things, trying to improve their organization–something near and dear to her heart. But she still wonders how feasible it will be to help make Iraq into a functioning democracy.

So how does she go from “she supports the military’s efforts to help create a democracy in Iraq” to “There is a sense of betrayal” now? Could it be she didn’t want to blow her cover in December 2005 and waited until becoming political active against the military when the Appeal for Redress was launched in October 2006?

Clearly since the leftist groups cannot get an anti-war movement within the ranks of the military started, they have instead decided to create the perception of one by using these plants from Amnesty International. I’m curious to how many more Amnesty International members are within the ranks? Some may wonder why someone would be willing to enlist if they fundamentally dislike the military.

Think about it, by enlisting like they have, it gives them for lack of a better word, “creditability”. So when they exit the military and begin to attack the military like they did prior to enlisting, it makes it more difficult for their opponents to criticize them when they served in the military. Granted they have picked the least dangerous jobs available, but they can still play the veteran card, which makes their opponents have to say every time “I respect your service to your country, but….”, just like critics of Murtha and Kerry have to do. This isn’t the first time that Burnett has been willing to go undercover for a cause she believes in:

Although all her unpaid activities might seem to be enough for any one person to handle, Linsay also has a job. She works as a bartender and a waitress at an exotic dance club; however, her job is part of the research that she is doing in order to write a Sociology Honors Thesis on the effects of globalization on sex workers.

“I’m researching how the economy effects how much they make, why they do what they do, and how seeing all that drips to this one little club,” Linsay said.

Like I have said before I don’t care if they want to speak out on something they believe in, what I don’t like is the dishonesty of the way they are doing it. I wouldn’t have a problem if they came clean and told everyone of their past and current affiliations like SPC Burnett did in the US News article. Why is SPC Burnett not coming clean on her past now in the NY Times article? Also the fundraising Appeal for Redress is doing is quasi illegal. Compare that to the Appeal for Courage site where there is no fundraising effort. I also have a problem with the financial and public relations backing the Appeal for Redress crew is getting through Fenton Communications.

If my website was being backed and promoted by Fox News, wouldn’t I have the moral responsibility to tell everyone that and put a logo or something on my site saying I’m a Fox News contributor? Why doesn’t Appeal for Redress put logos on their site of the people that are really behind them instead of using front groups? Because it goes against the carefully crafted image of a “grassroots” effort that Fenton Communications is trying to create. They are not a “grassroots” movement and are in fact part of a cleverly crafted campaign by Fenton Communications to create an image of “growing” dissent within the military.

The big question I am wondering is who came up with the idea to encourage these people to enlist? Was it Amnesty International’s idea of was it Fenton Communications’? Either way it is amazing to me the efforts these people are willing to go to in order to attack the military and in turn the Bush Administration. I wish Amnesty International would show this much dedication and resolve in combating human rights offensives and sexual slavery happening in China right now. How come they can’t get anyone to go undercover into China and speak out against them? Obviously because America is the easy target. Nothing is going to happen to these frauds that enlisted and if anything this enhances their career aspects within the liberal establishment.

Compare that to if they went undercover in China to report on human rights abuses there and were caught, they would end up in jail. That is why I have no respect for these people because the real human rights abusers they have no courage to confront while they gleefully go after the easy target, America.

Is it the same reason cowardly politicians, like Congressman Mike Honda attack Japan with their holier than thou campaigns and make excuses for China, because Japan is also an easy target. I would like to see Hutto, Burnett, and the rest of their crew try and do their undercover work in let’s say Chechnya or North Korea. I would then have some respect for them and Amnesty International. However, countries like China & North Korea Amnesty International will only continue to send naughty letters to, while the US military they will continue to send their undercover plants to back by a huge and elaborate media campaign. I could go on and on about the hypocrisy of these frauds, but just exposing their dishonesty should be enough for people to realize what their true agendas are.

You can read more over at Milblogs.

The body of the first ROK Army fatality in the Global War on Terror, SGT Yoon Jang-ho has arrived in Korea:

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Vershbow visited the military hospital in Seongnam, just outside of Seoul, where Yoon’s body lay in rest, and delivered the U.S. Bronze Star Medal and his condolences to Yoon’s bereaved family.

The medal is the fourth highest in the U.S. armed forces, and can be given to non-American soldiers who died while carrying out missions with U.S. forces.

Tuesday’s attack is believed to have targeted U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who was visiting the area, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Reports stated that the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the bombing that also killed one American soldier, an American contractor and 20 Afghan civilians.

Yoon’s parents flew to Kuwait and received the body, which was airlifted by the U.S. military from Afghanistan on Thursday.

The body arrived at a military airport in Seongnam, a city just south of Seoul, at 7:15 a.m. aboard a chartered flight amid falling rain. The plane also carried Yoon’s parents and some 300 South Korean soldiers returning home after completing a six-month mission in Iraq.

Yoon’s body was met solemnly by Army Chief of Staff Park Heung-ryul and some 100 soldiers from the military unit to which Yoon belonged before his departure to Afghanistan.

I think it was a nice gesture by Ambassador Vershbow to award the Bronze Star to SGT Yoon.  As a commenter pointed out, an American died in this blast as well, PFC Zizumbo who like SGT Yoon was from the midwest and also 27 years old.  I’m sure he will post-humanously be awarded the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his sacrifice as well.  Let’s also not forget the 20 Afghan truck drivers and children that were killed by this cowardly suicide bomber. 

What I’m curious about is where is President Roh?  President Roh so far is treating SGT Yoon’s death like how he treated the death of the six ROK sailors that died fighting off a North Korean ambush in 2002; by ignoring it.  It just seems callous to me that the US Ambassador is able to get to the hospital and meet SGT Yoon’s family and award him a medal before President Roh does. 

In other news related to SGT Yoon’s death, predictably the Hankyoreh is using SGT Yoon’s death to bash the United States:

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 because it had provided refuge to al Qaida, and it toppled the Taliban government there. Its oppressive occupation policy since has lasted six years and has made the people of that country turn against U.S. forces and has actually strengthened the Taliban.

(…)

Given the situation, Korea needs to give serious thought as to whether the Korean military should continue to support the U.S.-led occupation forces when they are not recognized as legitimate. The Korean government has continued to ignore calls for withdrawal coming from all sectors of society, all the while invoking its obligations to the U.S.-Korea alliance. However, being true to your duties as a true member of the alliance means making the U.S. listen to the views of the international community and not blindly following the U.S. around while having to put up with international criticism. The government needs to immediately start the process of withdrawing our soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Oppressive occupation"?  The Taliban conducting public executions, banning music, treating women no better than dogs, among a host of other wonders of Sharia Law was oppressive.  The US building schools, roads, establishing a democratic system of government among a host of other reconstruction projects is not oppressive.  Than again this is the Hankyoreh and they probably think the US presence in South Korea is an oppressive occupation.  It is totally dishonest to say that the people of Afghanistan have "turned against US forces" because then why does the Taliban have to hide in Pakistan if they supposedly have the support of the Afghan people?  It is because the vast majority of the Afghan people can’t stand the Taliban and are glad to see them go.  The Hankyoreh really needs to read this story if they think the Afghan people dislike the United States.

Also the Hankyoreh left out any mention that SGT Yoon volunteered to go to Afghanistan and deeply believed in the mission that he was doing.  If the Afghan people hated the "oppressive occupation" so much, how come all these Afghans were coming to receive job skills training from SGT Yoon and the rest of the Korean contingent in Afghanistan?  It is disgusting to me that instead of honoring SGT Yoon’s death as the hero that he is, the Hankyoreh is using his death to push their own political agenda, but I’m not surprised.   

The ROK Army is getting a defense upgrade with the introduction of the XK2 “Black Panther“:

Korea’s first domestically-made amphibious tank, featuring an auto loaded 120-mm cannon, rolled off the assembly line in Changwon, Friday (March 2).

The next-generation tank, code named “XK2” and nicknamed “Black Panther,” will replace the older K1 and American M47/48 tanks starting in 2011, defense officials said.

The new model features an auto loaded 120 mm cannon, can reach speeds of up to 70 km per hour, and can cross rivers as deep as 4.1 meters using a snorkle, according to its developer, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD).

At the launch ceremony for the tank, President Roh Moo-hyun stressed that Korea’s development of a top-tier weapon such as the XK2 with its own technology testifies to the country’s defense capability.

“The development of the world’s top-level tank–in both mobility and firepower–with our own technology shows the world our commitment to self-defense,” Roh said during the ceremony held at the ADD facilities in Changwon, Gyeongsang nam-do (South Gyeongsang Province).

This really does appear to be a great tank. The tank is a bit lighter than a US M1 and the armament and speed are slightly better. The tank can also drive underwater with a big snorkel which I would love to see a demonstration of how long it can stay underwater like that. You can watch this KBS video of the K1 in action which includes a demonstration of it underwater capability. The XK2 just like the K1 also maintains the hydraulic technology that allows the tank to fire down hill, which is extremely important in mountainous terrain like Korea.

The automatic loader feature of the XK2 is a great innovation, which means that the tank crew is one man less than a normal tank crew. It may not seem like a big deal, but when you start massing producing these tanks across the force that saved man power adds up. Additionally it has its own C4I technology which means that the tank commander has a screen where he can digitally see through GPS technology where friendly and enemy units are located at and send messages and issue orders through this screen to adjacent units. This is a great system if it works. What I’m curious about is if the C4I technology is compatible with US C4I? Would the ROK Army assets appear on US military C4I screens? I suspect not.

The air defense capabilities of the tank may be over stated. I have seen M1 tanks during National Training Center rotations shoot down helicopters plenty of times by massing fires on the target. US air defenders who used to man Bradley Stinger Fighting Vehicles would train shooting down helicopters using the Bradley’s 25mm cannon. So the fact that the XK2’s main gun can shoot down a helicopter is nothing new. What is interesting is that the fitted the tank with a Identify Friendly Foe (IFF) system that is used to interrogate aircraft to see if they are hostile or not. This tends to indicate that the tank may be used as a primary air defense weapon. It will be interesting to see how this plays out because if the tank can properly execute an air defense mission then that could save more man power by not needing as many air defense soldiers.

The importance of saving man power may not be important now for the ROK Army, but it will be important if the ROK decides implement an all volunteer force in the future. First of all you don’t have to recruit as many people and secondly you don’t have to pay to train or retain those soldiers that would normally fill that position. Over the long run that becomes a big defense savings. Additionally, countries that Korea may attempt to sell this system to, may have all volunteer forces which makes the system more appealing to them to purchase.

The price of the tank is steep though, costing about $8.5 million US dollars per tank. Compare that cost to a US M1 Abrams that the latest models cost around $4.3 million US dollars per tank. The bottom line is that the tank is slightly better than an M1 Abrams, but is it worth double the cost of buying a M1? That all depends on the size of the pocket book of countries interested in buying it. Especially when you factor things like how much does it cost to up keep the tank per year? Additionally, the availability of parts is another critical aspect of this tank for any international buyers.

I think it is important to realize that the production of this new tank is more likely driven initially by its export potential than President Roh’s claims to a “commitment to self-defense”. Take a look for example at Korea’s recent introduction of the K-9/K-10 “Thunder” self propelled artillery system.

The K9/K10 system is one of the best self propelled artillery system in the world and superior even to the US M109 “Paladin” system and vastly superior if equipped with the K10 package. However, before the system was even fielded to the ROK Army it was being sold and exported abroad. The first country the developer of the K9, Samsung Techwin, sold the system to was Turkey who received its first batch of K9s in 2004 and has since bought the license from Samsung Techwin to domestically produce the K9 in Turkey. Turkey is expected to field a force of 300 K9s by 2011. This total deal for Samsung Techwin was worth a reported $1 billion US dollars.

Samsung Techwin is continuing to test the system for potential international buyers such as Malaysia, Australia, and Spain to name a few interested countries. The K9 is expected to claim 31% of the world’s self propelled artillery market by 2015 making them the world’s leaders in this field over rivals such as Germany and Japan. While the K9 is being sold overseas to countries like Turkey, the ROK Army still hasn’t been fully fielded with the new K9.

I expect the XK2 will probably also be aggressively marketed overseas to potential buyers just like the K9/K10. This statement by ADD Direct Ahn Dong-man tends to support my thesis:

Having developed a tank, a land weapon symbol, based on independent technology, we not only can secure superiority over the panzer force of North Korea but also can export the tank since it has high-tech performance and price competitiveness.

You can read more here and here.

Great posting at DPRK Studies about how North Korea’s nuclear program is being dishonestly reported on in the US media.  I’m not sure if it is due to just complete journalistic incompetence or planned demagoguery on the part of the journalist, but read it and you be the judge. 

UPDATE #2:  More information is coming out from the Korean media about the deceased ROK Army soldier SGT Yoon.  SGT Yoon was sent to the United States by his parents to attend middle school and high school in Indiana.  After completing high school he attended the University of Indiana and studied business.  Yoon hadn’t been back to Korea for over 10 years when he decided to go back and complete his mandatory service commitment to the ROK Army.  He could have stayed in the US and applied for a Green Card, but he decided to serve his country instead. 

Yoon joined the ROK Army in 2005 and became a member of the Korean Special Forces and volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan last September against the wishes of his family.  In Afghanistan he was helping teach local Afghanis job trade skills.  He was scheduled to redeploy from Afghanistan in April of this year and complete his mandatory service in May. 

SGT Yoon’s parents and his two older sibling are understandably distraught over this tragedy and his dad condemned the terrorists for killing his son.  What I found kind of distasteful though was how the Korean media are just storming this poor family.  For the love of God give these people some space and let them grieve. 

I really have nothing but the up most respect for SGT Yoon.  He could of stayed in the US, made money, and avoided the mandatory service, but he decided to go back to Korea and serve his country where he was making probably less than $100 a month base pay for a conscriptee.

People in Korea should really reflect on this and ask themselves, like many in America do about our servicemembers, where does Korea find such great people like SGT Yoon?  Koreans should also take note that their military is filled with many other great soldiers like SGT Yoon and should be proud of the selfless service of all the men and women of the ROK Army as well as all those who volunteer to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan and soon in Lebanon as well.

________________________________________________

UPDATE#1:  Milblogger MAJ John stationed on Bagram has a good posting about the bombing that happened yesterday.  Apparantly the terrorists hid the bomb in a shipping container and as the truck got to the front of the gate to be searched the bomb detonated killing an American soldier and a Korean soldiers along with a host of kids and Afghan truck drivers.  Yes the big, bad Taliban is able to blow up a bomb that kills mostly kids and truck drivers and the media is of course hyping the resurgent Taliban threat because they can blow up kids and truck drivers. 

MAJ John also says that Vice President Cheney was over a mile away from the bombing and in no danger.  However, this hasn’t stopped the media from running irresponsible headlines of an assassination attempt on the Vice President.  Would it be an assassination attempt on President Bush if someone blew up a bomb at the front gate of the White House killing civilians and gate guards?  No it would be labeled as terrorism because that is what this was.  That bomb had no intention of ever getting into the airbase.  It was simply blown up to kill as many people as possible to make the very headlines these idiots in the news media are publishing. 

The conspiracy theorist in me also thinks this bombing was used to send a message to the Vice President.  Remember before visiting Afghanistan Cheney visited Pakistan and had some very strong words to say about President Musharraf’s less than agressive policy to fight the Taliban fighters hiding in western Pakistan.  The Vice President’s trip would be quite secret, but assuredly the Pakistan government would have known about it.  Could the Pakistan government had tipped off the Taliban about the VP’s visit and the Taliban rushed to set off an explosion to grab news headlines while at the same time Pakistan could use the bombing as a great big, –ck you to the VP?

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The ROK Army has suffered its first casualty in the War on Terror:

A suicide bomber attacked the entrance to the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan Tuesday during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney, killing at least 14 people and wounding a dozen more. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said Cheney was the target.

Cheney’s spokeswoman said he was fine, and the vice president later met with President Hamid Karzai in the capital, Kabul, before leaving the country.

There were conflicting reports on the death toll. Provincial Gov. Abdul Jabar Taqwa said 20 people were killed, while NATO said initial reports indicated three fatalities, including a U.S. soldier, a South Korean coalition soldier and a U.S. government contractor whose nationality wasn’t immediately known. NATO said 27 people also were wounded.

(…)

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said one of its troops stationed in Bagram, Sgt. Yoon Jang-ho, 27, was killed in the explosion. South Korea has about 200 engineers and medics in Bagram.

It just goes to show that no matter how bad the US-ROK alliance may appear to be politically, it doesn’t effect the relationship militarily between the US & ROK armies, as is shown with US and Korean soldiers dying together in Afghanistan.  I have always found soldiers from the ROK Army to be some of the best soldiers from a foreign military I have ever served with. 

SGT Yoon appears to be no different as he was a graduate of Indiana University in the United States and was serving as a translator a translator in Afghanistan.  Initially it was reported SGT Yoon and the other US soldier were working as guards at the entrance of the Bagram Base when they were attacked which I would find surprising to see a ROK soldier working such a dangerous job an entry point guard due to the Korean government’s extremely risk adverse stance with their soldiers in both Afghanistan and Iraq because of the fear of casualties.  However, Joong Ang Ilbo is reporting that SGT Yoon was actually at the entry point to meet some Afghans he was working with:

According to Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the attack took place at the front gate of the base. Mr. Yun, a sergeant with the Dasan unit, was killed instantly.
Sergeant Yun was on a mission right outside the gate, the military said, escorting residents of Afghanistan into the base for a technology training program.
No other casualties or injuries to the Korean contingent were reported, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that the terror attack was apparently not targeting Korean troops.

The Taliban is saying that the bomber attended to assassinate Vice President Cheney who was visiting the base which is ridiculous.  More than likely the Taliban got word of Cheney visiting the base and sent this suicide bomber out to strike a soft target near the base to get international headlines of trying to assassinate the Vice President.  It just so happens the softest target around any military base is the entry point where people and vehicles are waiting in line to enter the base.  This cowardly suicide bomber probably simply walked to the front of the line and blew himself and the people around him up. 

What will be interesting to see is how the death of SGT Yoon will be portrayed in the Korean media.  Will his death be framed as an honorable and brave soldier serving his country or a needless death in support of an American cause?   Could this start a movement to withdraw Korean engineers from Afghanistan?  Initial reports are encouraging that the Korean government plans to continue with their reconstruction mission in Afghanistan:

Park said the incident is unlikely to affect Seoul’s plan to keep the troops in Afghanistan.

"In my personal view, it seems that there will be no change in the plan to retain the troops there by the end of this year, as set by the National Assembly," he said

Let’s hope the government of Korea honors SGT Yoon properly as a hero who tried to make life better for the people of Afghanistan instead of ignoring or marginalizing his sacrifice like the Korean government has done in the past with the six sailor killed in the 2002 West Sea Naval Battle. 

Rest in peace SGT Yoon and thank you for your sacrifice in support of the United States and most importantly the people of Afghanistan.

You can read more over at the Marmot’s Hole and OFK.

Perspective you will never get from the main stream media:

The total military dead in the Iraq war between 2003 and this month stands at about 3,133. This is tragic, as are all deaths due to war, and we are facing a cowardly enemy unlike any other in our past that hides behind innocent citizens. Each death is blazoned in the headlines of newspapers and Internet sites. What is never compared is the number of military deaths during the Clinton administration: 1,245 in 1993; 1,109 in 1994; 1,055 in 1995; 1,008 in 1996. That’s 4,417 deaths in peacetime but, of course, who’s counting?

You can view an entire break down of total US military casualties since 1980 here.  Personally I don’t like playing the body count game, but the media and the left continues to hammer the body count to the public.  It sickens me when I watch the news and the current total deaths of US service members in Iraq is treated as some kind of basketball score.  However, to those of us in the military the number of this basketball score includes real people that we in military know, worked with, were friends with, and respected.  The way the media and the left plays the body count game is disrespectful to those soldiers and families who have died for their country. 

What the US is doing in Iraq shouldn’t be judged by casualty totals, but even if it was the US’s casualties in Iraq are comparable to a peacetime army and well lower than any other major US military conflict in our nation’s history.  As I discussed before, it is a good thing the United States didn’t give up on South Korea based on casualty statistics from the Korean War. 

The bottom line is that being in the military is dangerous whether it is peace time or war time.  Soldiers die in training and work related accidents.  I can remember major training events in Korea where soldiers died during river crossing training across the Imjim River as well as when a M113 rolled over into a rice paddy.  I can also remember soldiers dyeing from flash flooding in Korea as well.  Also just like civilians, soldiers die in automobile accidents, suicides, sickness, etc.  However, when these things happened before the Iraq War it wasn’t treated like a running basketball score on every news channel. 

Instead of casualty totals the media should be judging Iraq by political progress, by provinces handed over to the Iraqi government, the number of Iraqi Army battalions fielded, the number of schools opened, staffed hospitals, unemployment numbers, crime & murder rates, college graduates, etc.  Hammer the US public with those numbers every day instead of playing the morbid body count game.  However, the news media won’t do this because, though progress has been slow, there has been clear signs of progress, thus the need to keep playing the body count game. 

If "progress" in Iraq is judged by a body count than the US military can show "progress" real easily by keeping everyone on base all day, but would a lower body count really mean "progress".  No it would not.  The things I mentioned above is how the US military judges progress in Iraq, while at the same time doing everything possible to protect soldiers’ lives while still accomplishing the mission.  The fact that our military leadership has been able to make steady progress while keeping casualties low enough to compare to peace time casualty numbers is really a testament to the great work done by our military leaders and service members in Iraq. 

If you look at the complete statistics I linked to above something else that is really interesting is the suicide numbers.  The peace time military of the Clinton years has a significantly higher suicide percentage than the war time military of today.  Yet what headlines do you hear about in the media today about military suicides?  They blast you with headlines that US military suicides have increased due to deployments, which the Reuters journalist had to conveniently manipulate statistics to show.  However, as I showed in this posting, the US military suicide rates have in fact stayed stable on average throughout the war in Iraq and are lower than when compared to civilian rates.  Young men and women today actually are more likely to commit suicide going to college than they are if they joined the military.  Even more telling is that a young man or woman joining the war time military today is less likely to commit suicide compared to the peace time military during the Clinton years. 

Statistics don’t lie, demagogues do and unfortunately more and more of our media is filled with demagogues. 

HT: Milblogs

This is a sad story:

Song will soon be able to get a divorce. The question is, will his wife ever find out?  Song is a 49-year-old defector from North Korea who left a wife and two children behind him, took up with a Russian mother of three and brought them to South Korea. But so impenetrable is the iron curtain between the two Koreas that there’s no way of communicating. There are no phone, mail or Internet connections.

This area of marital law is a legal minefield for South Korea which is likely to be cleared in March when a law is enacted permitting defectors to obtain a divorce from a South Korean court. But not all the mines will be defused.

Read the whole story on your own but basically this NK defector worked at as guest laborer at a lumber mill in Russia in 1998.  He was caught saying bad things about the NK government and was going to be arrested.  So he hid within Russia. While hiding in Russia he met an ethnic Mongolian Russian and she sold everything she had to flee with him and her kids to South Korea.  She has now given birth to their child, but is in South Korea on a tourist visa.  The defectors wants to get married so she doesn’t get deported, but first he must divorce his wife in North Korea.

According to the article 223 defectors have tried to get divorced in South Korea, but only one has ever been successful.  Hopefully for the sake of his new family he can get divorced and married before the authorities deport his wife and children.