Site traffic has continued to build this month with total uniques up by over 1,500 and total visits up by over 5,000 compared to June.  The hostage crisis has brought in plenty of visitors, but the grandma rape case post continues to get high traffic as well from people searching for grandma rape on search engines.  Some really disturbing people out there.   I would like to thank my top referrers and everyone else reading the site.  Have a good weekend. 

July ROK Drop Statistics

ROK Drop   Uniques    Visits        Pages                 
Average        442            1477        4974     
Per Day

Top Five Countries Visiting ROK Drop for July
1. United States
2. South Korea
3. E.U.
4. Netherlands
5. Australia

Top Referrers
1. Marmot’s Hole (Last month #2)
2. Lost Nomad  (Last month #1)
3. Dave’s ESL Cafe (Unranked)
4. Milblogs (Last Month #4)
5. DPRK Studies (Last Month #3)

Top 10 Searched for Key Phrases
1. Korean missionaries in Afghanistan
2. Korean missionaries Afghanistan
3. gi korea
4. rokdrop
5. Korean missionary Afghanistan
6. lee pani
7. Korean missionary taliban
8. missionaries in Afghanistan
9. xk2
10.jill metzger

Top Five Posts for the Month of July
1. USFK Soldier Sentenced and Convicted in Grandma Rape Case
2. Taliban Kidnaps Korean Missionaries in Afghanistan
3. Korean Missionary Kidnapping Update
4. ROK Army Sexual Assault Update
5. Suicide Bomber Kills Korean Servicemember in Afghanistan

Note: You can see the top overall posts on my sidebar.

Remember the politicization of the body armor issue a couple of months ago that turned out to be a total fraud?  Well, if the Marines have their way soon many of them won’t be wearing body armor anyway:

The commander of a U.S. Marine Corps unit in Iraq wants to have his Marines begin patrolling without helmets and with less body armor.

But the Marines would have the gear at their local patrol bases and could resume wearing it whenever needed, said Lt. Col. Kelly Alexander, commanding officer of Task Force Highlander, part of Regimental Combat Team-2, which operates in western Anbar province.

The proposed changes apply to what is called PPE, or personal protective equipment.

Alexander said a change to a “soft posture” can now be considered because the security situation has improved significantly in recent months. That is especially so in local cities where the Marines work closely with an ever-growing Iraqi police force and where residents have shown a newfound willingness to tip the police to insurgent activity.

“In my opinion … things are good enough now that we can begin to institute a reduction in the PPE” in the task force’s area of operation, Alexander said in an interview this week.

This will be quite a development and a definite sign of progress in Anbar province if the Marines do shed their body armor and helmets to go on patrol.  Now if they could only take Harry Reid on patrol with them and show him this progress. 

The 2nd Infantry Divison, USFK lone combat unit in Korea is composed of two main hubs. The first hub are the camps located in the Uijongbu area just north of Seoul. Uijongbu is home to logistical, communications, and command & control units while the city of Dongducheon located 20 kilometers north of Uijongbu on Highway 3, is home to the division’s combat arms units. The division’s infantry, armor, engineer, and artillery units are all located in the Dongducheon area:

Camp Kwangsa-ri
The first camp in the Casey area is called Camp Kwangsa-ri, which is located halfway between Dongducheon and Uijongbu. The camp serves as a ammunition storage facility for the 2ID and is only staffed with a handful ordinance soldiers, a few American civilian workers, many Korean workers, and a ROK Army unit. I have been to Camp Kwangsa-ri more times than I care to remember handling ammunition issues, but the biggest story to ever come out of this camp was when a corruption scandal was uncovered on the camp in 2005 involving a Korean worker named Mr. Kim who was stealing expended ammunistion brass from the camp to resell to a private company. Mr. Kim made $300,000 from the scam and is still at large to this day.

Dongducheon
Just of the road from Camp Kwangsa-ri is the city of Dongducheon. Dongducheon by Korean standards is considered a backwater city even though it has a population of nearly 80,000 people. The city also has long had a seedy reputation due to being home to a large number of US military camps over the years:

The city and especially Camp Casey and Hovey are ringed with steep mountains including the popular local mountain Soyosan that makes up the northern boundary of Camp Casey. A river runs through the center of the city and is known to flood from time to time. In 1997 the entire Dongducheon “ville” area was underwater during the worst flood in recent memory.

Most people in the city either directly or indirectly are dependent on the USFK presence for their livelihood. However, factories staffed with third world laborers continue to sprout up in the area to contribute to the local economy as well. The mixture of Koreans, third world laborers, and US soldiers does give the city a vibe very different from everywhere else in Korea.

Camp Casey
The biggest camp by far in Dongducheon is Camp Casey:

The camp was named in 1952 after Major Hugh Casey who was an engineer officer that was awared the Distinguished Service Cross for combat actions during the evacuation of Hungnam, North Korea. Casey would later die in December 1951 when the light observer plane he was flying in was shot down by ground fire and crashed on a small hill in the middle of present day Camp Casey. This hill to this day is marked by a large white cross that can be seen from just about anywhere on Camp Casey.

Camp Casey is a large sprawling base located farther north than any other major US military camp in Korea. The camp is only 15 miles straight line distance from the DMZ that separates the two Koreas. Camp Casey is so close to the DMZ you would think it would be quite a spartan installation. That is not the case, as the camp has every facility any other US Army installation has:

It has numerous eating establishments both fast food and sit down restaurants. There are two different Burger King locations, a Popeye’s Chicken, Dunkin Donuts, Anthony’s Pizza, and a Taco Bell. The Primo’s restaurant has a really good lunch buffet that is worth checking out as well.

The largest PX in 2ID can be found here to buy all the latest products and a decent commissary that includes most the foods you would find in the states. The camp also has a nice bookstore and sports shop. The PX also has a number of Korean stores where you can buy typical Korean products, but they are quite expensive compared to buying the same items off post.

Camp Casey is filled with athletic facilities. There are gyms and weight rooms are spread out all over the camp plus numerous football and softball fields are available as well. Throughout the year there are numerous athletics leagues running that encompasses every major sport played in the US. The competition in these leagues is usually very competitive because most soldiers are in Korea away from their families for a year and thus focus much on sports to keep them busy.

The camp also has plenty of entertainment options. There are multiple bars on the camp and a dance club located in Primo’s. Near the PX there is also a nice bowling alley for the bowlers out there. The golf course is quite popular and usually filled unsurprisingly with Korean golfers.

Some of the major units on Camp Casey include Taskforce 1-72 Armor, 2-9 Infantry, 302nd Brigade Support Battalion, 1-38 Field Artillery, & 6-37 Field Artillery.

Golsandong
An unusual fact about Camp Casey is that it actually contains its own Korean village called Golsandong:

The village is actually spread out among the hills to the east of Camp Casey and contains 48 homes with 116 residents:

These homes can only be reached by driving through Camp Casey. So if you are stationed on Camp Casey and see some Koreans driving farming equipment on post, now you know why.

Camp Hovey
Located adjacent to Camp Casey is the medium sized installation of Camp Hovey.

The camp is named after Master Sergeant Howard Hovey who ended up being one of the last Americans to die during the Korean War during the battle of Pork Chop Hill in July 1953. For his heroic actions defending the hill from the massive Chinese offensive he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

MSG Howard Hovey

Camp Hovey has plenty of facilities to include a restaurant and club, a video store, gymnasium, and sports field. One minus about Camp Hovey is the distance from the PX and commissary on Camp Casey. It is about a 20 minute bus ride from Hovey to reach the PX.

The front gate of the camp is bordered by the sleazy and run down ville of Toko-ri:

You can read more about Teokgeo-ri at the below link:

• A Profile of Korea’s Teokgeo-ri Ville

Some of the major units on Camp Hovey includes 1-15 Field Artillery, 4-7 US Cavalry, & 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion.

Camp Mobile
Located right across Highway 3 from Camp Casey is small installation Camp Mobile:

Camp Mobile was known for decades by 2ID soldiers as the “Turtle Farm” because it was the location of the 2ID Replacement Company. The new soldiers that arrived at Camp Mobile were known as “turtles” because they had so long to go before their tour in Korea would be complete. Since the Replacement Company was on the camp the Central Issue Facility (CIF) was established on Camp Mobile to field gear to all the new soldiers.

I remember my first time pulling into Camp Mobile. I had been on a bus from Kimpo Airport and pulled into this camp that reminded me more of a concentration camp than a military installation due to the drab buildings, quonset huts, and barbed wire. This place was not a welcoming site to anyone pulling into 2ID for the first time. Fortunately the Replacement Company was moved to the much more hospitable Camp Stanley in Uijongbu. The company is now known as the Warrior Readiness Company.

Camp Mobile also has an air strip on it that is used for helicopter landings as well as UAV operations. The only thing I remember more than arriving to the “turtle farm” for the first time was waiting in the freezing cold of February for four hours on the air strip to do an air assault training operation with the 1-503 Infantry. We absolutely froze waiting for the helicopters that would never seen to show up. Finally we were told it was to cold and the visibility to poor for the helicopters to come. There was some seriously pissed off infantrymen that day.

Camp Nimble
Just down the road from both Camp Casey and Camp Mobile is the now vacated Camp Nimble:

Camp Nimble before closing, was home to two companies from the 702nd MSB. These two companies contained the military semi-trucks used to transport cargo and equipment for the division. This may be why it was named Camp Nimble:

I’m sure the camp had its good points, but to me Camp Nimble never seemed like a good place to be stationed and the roads leading from the camp were quite narrow and definitely a traffic hazard for military vehicles trying to drive through there. Fortunately this camp has finally been closed down.

Camp Castle
Just north of Camp Casey is the small installation of Camp Castle. Camp Castle for decades was home to the engineers units thus the reason for the name of Camp Castle. The engineers moved off the camp in 2004 and has been occupied by the 702nd Brigade Support Battalion since:

Something unusual about this camp is that the motorpool is located on the opposite side of Highway 3 from the rest of the camp. The motorpool is accessed by a pedestrian overpass.

Camp Castle is further divided with a small warehouse located just north of Camp Castle’s main post which is known as Camp Castle North:

The warehouse on Camp Castle North is used by the division to turn in old equipment to the support battalion unit that operates the warehouse. This is another place I have spent way to much time at before.

Overall, the Camp Casey area is not a bad posting considering how close to freedom’s frontier one is stationed. Combined the camps have just about every facility you could expect on any other US military installation and transportation to and from the post continues to improve, especially with the opening of the new subway station in Dongducheon. So if you get stationed in the Camp Casey area it is not the end of the world and it is not that bad of a place. Like most things in Korea, it is all what you make of it.

Note: You can read more from the ROK Drop featured series “A Profile of USFK Bases” at the below link:

It is that time of the month again, USFK has released their monthly court martial results. It was actually a very slow month with only five court martial and four off post incidents handled in the Korean courts and none of them very serious. Just a lot of typical stupid stuff, but the two DUIs in the ROK court are bit of a concern because that makes six DUIs in four months for USFK. That is not a good trend.

Now these two servicemembers convicted in Korean court I just have to wonder what the heck they did:

In Incheon District Court on 10 July 2007, Major Brenda J. Suggars, HHC, EUSA, was
convicted of Trademark Law violations. Her adjudged sentence was a 1,000,000 Won
fine.

In Incheon District Court on 10 July 2007, Sergeant First Class Malanie N. English,
524th MI, was convicted of Trademark Law violations. Her adjudged sentence was a
500,000 Won fine.

Trademark violations? Korea even enforces trademark laws? I wonder if they were selling off pirated DVDs and games? This is the first time I seen USFK servicemembers convicted for trademark violations so this is a new one on me. I have to wonder how often Koreans get arrested for trademark violations because all you have to do is take a stroll down to the Yongsan Electronics Market to see all the counterfeit goods being pedaled out in the open.

Anyway you can view the rest of the results below the fold:

(more…)

The last of the soldiers involved in the 2006 rape and murder of an Iraqi family has been convicted:

A military jury found a soldier guilty of rape and murder in the slayings of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and her family, despite testimony that cast doubt on his involvement.

Jurors deliberated much of Friday evening before convicting Army Pfc. Jesse Spielman, 22, of conspiracy to commit rape, rape, housebreaking with intent to commit rape and four counts of felony murder.

He faces a mandatory life sentence when a sentencing hearing begins Saturday. The jury will decide if he will be eligible for parole.

There actually one former soldier, Steven Green that is still waiting to go to court in Kentucky.  He is the alleged ring leader and the person that murdered the family.  He faces the death penalty and should rightfully receive it if convicted. 

The media has been splashing headlines for over a year about these disgraceful criminals while at the same time ignoring soldiers like Captain Brennan Goltry who deserve headlines:

It wasn’t the first time he’d been shot. And it wasn’t the first time he’d led his men through an ambush.

But, for the actions he took on one particular moonlit night in Samarra in February, Capt. Brennan Goltry has been marked as a hero. Goltry was awarded the Silver Star, two Purple Hearts and the Combat Infantryman Badge in a ceremony Tuesday at a small combat outpost in a city still very much in the middle of the fight.

Read the whole thing, but thank goodness for the Stars & Stripes because they regularly publish stories about American heroes that the main stream media would rather ignore and pretend does not exist.  However, great soldiers and Americans like CPT Goltry do exist and populate the ranks of the military at a vastly higher percentage than the cretins involved in the 2006 murders. 

I expected the Roh Administration to be consistently incompetent in handling the hostage crisis and so far I have not been disappointed.  The latest incompetency is that the Korean government paid ransom to the wrong people:

For now, though, the chances of a breakthrough seem slim. Indeed, the negotiations seem to be marked by confusion. The senior Taliban commander tells NEWSWEEK that a newly arrived South Korean envoy, a Ghazni member of parliament and some government negotiators, may have been talking to a bogus Taliban group that was posing as the kidnappers and has demanded and received some money. There is no way to verify the claim of the commander, who has provided reliable information to NEWSWEEK in the past. But he insists that he has never asked for any money, and is only interested in an exchange of the hostages for Taliban prisoners. (HT: Nomad)

This news broke in a Newsweek interview with the Taliban.  Of course the Korean government has denied this, but I see no reason why the Taliban would lie about this plus this is the incompetency I expect from the Korean government.  Make sure you read the whole article because as I suspected the big white bus they were driving in on the highway with no security is what drew their attention to kidnap the missionaries. 

I still cannot get over how naive and stupid these people are.  They might as well have hung a banner on the side of the bus saying "Kidnap Me!" 

If anyone is wondering why the Afghan government does not want to release Taliban prisoners here is your reason why:

The impasse has placed Afghan President Hamid Karzai in an almost impossible predicament. Last March, facing a similar dilemma and under heavy pressure from Italy, Karzai ordered the release of five senior Taliban officials in exchange for an Italian journalist, Daniele Mastrogiacomo, who had been abducted along with his Afghan driver and interpreter. The Taliban executed the two Afghans, and Karzai’s European and U.S. allies widely criticized his humanitarian gesture. One of the freed Taliban commanders, Mansor Dadullah, is now directing suicide bombings and other attacks against Afghan and American forces from his redoubt on the Afghan-Pakistan border.

Who knows how many people have died because of the freeing of one Italian journalist, not that Seoul cares because they just discovered the Taliban are not "conscientious Muslims" and have been attempting to shift responsibility for the whole crisis on to the US.

To further show Korean governmental incompetence the government is sending members from the national assembly to Washington to lobby President Bush who is meeting with Afghan President Karzai at Camp David the next two days, to release the Taliban prisoners.  All these governmental officials are just going to make Karzai dig in his feet even more because he is not going to give in to public governmental pressure from Korea.  The Korean government continues to do more harm than good for these hostages. 

At least the hostages’ families are seeing through the charade being organized by the Korean government, anti-US groups, and their media allies:

The families of the Korean hostages spoke out against a movement to hold the U.S. responsible for the unresolved crisis, saying anti-American demonstrations could put the hostages’ lives at greater risk. The families turned down an offer by some anti-American organizations to stage a candlelight rally.

Lee Jeong-hoon, a representative of the families, said on Thursday, “Since an anti-American demonstration could have a negative influence on the negotiations for the release of the hostages, we have made efforts to avoid being involved in any such demonstrations.” “An anti-American movement could be what the Taliban want,” Lee said. “We rejected suggestions by some anti-American groups to hold a candlelight vigil and march to the U.S. Embassy in Korea.” (HT: OFK)

What a mess this hostage crisis is and the people of Korea have their most incompetent administration in decades to try and solve it.  Just ask yourself, if you were Korean would you want President Roh trying to save you? 

You can read more over at Hot Air

This is just one reason why the US should not sign a free trade agreement with Korea:

In a move that could hinder the passage of a bilateral free trade pact, South Korea effectively blocked all U.S. beef imports from reaching store shelves Thursday after banned parts were found in a recent shipment.

The discovery of unauthorized animal parts in a July shipment, including spinal material, comes as the United States pushes for a full reopening of what once had been the third-largest overseas market for its beef.

Seoul ended a ban of three and a half years last month on U.S. beef that was prompted by a 2003 outbreak of mad cow disease in the United States, allowing in boneless U.S. beef from cattle under 30 months old.

But South Korea announced Thursday that it was stopping inspections of U.S. beef under quarantine, meaning that beef already in warehouses would be prevented from reaching store shelves. It will now decide whether to ban U.S. beef altogether.

Any agreement signed with the Koreans will not be upheld by their side and the continuous banning of US beef is just a perfect example of this.  The Korean government has now banned all US beef to Korea because of one box of T-bone steaks that was labeled for consumption in the US. 

You may remember back in June US beef shipments were banned when four boxes of beef that were meant for the US market some how ended up in the Korean beef shipment.  It was later found that the four boxes were samples of US beef provided to a South Korean company in California.  This company was some how able to get the four boxes of beef into the US shipment to Korea, which ended up banning US beef all together until the US Congress got involved and threatened trade sanctions. 

 I find it hard to believe that the US beef exporter, Cargil would have been sloppy enough to send another box of meat that was meant for US consumption.  I agree with Brendon that there may be a "Patriotic Korean" somewhere along the export chain making sure that a box of beef meant for the US market ends up in the shipment of beef meant for export to Korea.  There is already evidence of this from the investigation after the June ban and I would not be surprised if another South Korean connection is found again this time. 

Everyone ask yourself, would Korea pull this crap with China?  We already know the answer to that question when the Korean government backed down on their Chinese kimchi ban during the Great Kimchi Crisis of 2005 when China threatened a trade war with Korea.  There has never been a problem with Chinese kimchi since.  If the US government is serious about exporting beef to Korea than it needs to start learning to play by rules the Koreans understand.  Just ask China. 

You can read more at Lost Nomad.

The Pat Tillman case has taken another twist:

Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman‘s forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former NFL player’s death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. […]

The documents show that a doctor who autopsied Tillman’s body was suspicious of the three gunshot wounds to the forehead. The doctor said he took the unusual step of calling the Army’s Human Resources Command and was rebuffed. He then asked an official at the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division if the CID would consider opening a criminal case.

The M-16 fires a three round burst and three wounds located close to each other would likely come from a closer source than the story that was claimed that he was shot from friendly fire by soldiers shooting from a distance.  I doubt it was criminal because anyone that wanted to kill Pat Tillman would know killing him would lead to huge headlines.

This is all speculation on my part, but I think the most likely possibility is an accidental discharge by someone that was with him.  Accidental discharges do happen and have killed people before.  An accidental discharge is a definite possibility, but such a thing happening to Pat Tillman would be highly embarrassing to the Rangers who pride themselves on being an elite unit.  If an accidental discharge killed Tillman that would not explain the wounds on his arms and legs.  I have to wonder if his unit to cover up the accidental discharge shot him a few more times in the arms and legs to give further credence to their story?

This would explain why the overall Special Forces commander at the time, the now retired Three Star General Philip Kensinger would lie to Pentagon investigator and try to cover up the case.  The embarrassment of an accidental discharge killing Tillman would be bad enough, but I don’t think it would cause a three star general to cover up what happened.  However, the unit shooting him after he was already dead in order to cover up an accidental discharge would be such an embarrassing set of circumstances, that maybe even a three star general would cover it up.

No matter what happened the Tillman case has been handled very poorly and people involved in the botched handling of this case need to be held accountable.  So far only General Kensinger has been censured for his actions, but surely more people are some how involved.  The Tillman family is owed a full investigation and all those responsible need to be held accountable.

Here is some breaking news, the Joong Ang Ilbo has discovered that the Taliban are not "conscientious Muslims":

The deep sorrow of Shim’s family is the pain and sadness of us all. We shall never forget the cruelty and cowardice of the Taliban.
The evidence of these cold-blooded killings suggests the Taliban are no longer conscientious Muslims but have become murderous pyschopaths.

You mean to tell me the executions, beheadings, stoning of women, suicide bombings, among a host of other vicious crimes committed by the Taliban over the years was not enough to convice the Joong Ang Ilbo until now that the Taliban is not "conscientious Muslims", but "murderous pyschopaths"? 

So how does the Joong Ang recommend dealing with these "murderous pyschopaths"?  By giving in to their demands:

So the best solution, to prevent the deaths of other hostages is to release the Taliban prisoners held by the Afghan government, as the kidnappers demand.
But the Korean government cannot force the Afghan government to do that, so more Koreans are likely to die. The Afghan government is reluctant to free Taliban prisoners because the United States, its principal ally, has a policy of no compromise with terrorists.

Basically what this columnist is claiming is that the past crimes of the Taliban are not that of "murderous pyschopaths" because they were not directed against Koreans.  Only now that the Taliban are targeting Koreans are they considered criminals.  This mind set is why the Koreans advocating giving into terrorist demands don’t care if freed Taliban prisoners go on to kill Afghan civilians and American soldiers, as long as they are not Koreans. 

UPDATE #2: The anti-US blame game being played in Korea is now making headlines in the US:  (HT: Nomad)

South Korea‘s frustration over the plight of Christian volunteers seized by the Taliban is starting to focus on the United States, a frequent target of resentment here. Politicians and citizens of all persuasions are increasingly calling on Washington to help resolve the 15-day-old standoff, believing the United States to be the only country capable of pushing Afghanistan to meet the captors’ demands that Taliban prisoners be freed.  […]

An anti-American backlash could boost liberals who have increasingly pushed for Seoul to assert its independence from Washington at the expense of the conservative pro-U.S. opposition that now holds a commanding lead.

What is ironic about this whole thing is that the leftist anti-US politicians are the very reason that Korea has little influence with the US and with what is going on in Afghanistan.  If anyone thinks electing another leftist liberal politician is going to change this fact, they will be sadly mistaken and instead will become even more irrelevant.

_______________________________

UPDATE #1: The Taliban has agreed to meet Korean diplomats:

“A South Korean diplomatic delegation is to meet the Taliban for face-to-face talks to look for ways and solutions to free the South Korean nationals,” Ghazni governor Mirajuddin Pattan said.

____________________________

Early today rumors of a hostage rescue mission were swirling around, but were quickly put down by the Afghan government. These rumors caused the Taliban to threaten to kill four more prisoners as the hostage crisis continues on for yet another day.

Also today the blame America campaign being waged by the Korean media and government went into overdrive. I almost don’t even know where to begin. Let’s start with Choe Sang-hun’s article in the New York Times:

On Tuesday, the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a civic group based in Seoul, issued a statement accusing Washington of watching the hostage crisis “as if it were a fire across the river.”

“As everyone knows, the Taliban’s demand is something the U.S. government can help resolve, not the Afghan or South Korean government,” the statement said. “The South Korean government, citing its alliance with the United States, dispatched troops for the U.S. war against terrorism. Now why can’t it use the spirit of the alliance to help persuade the U.S. administration and save its own people?”

So who is the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) to be waving the “spirit of the alliance” card you may ask? Well they are just another anti-US group that was a member of the Korean Alliance Against the Korea-U.S. FTA that even had one of their own set himself on fire outside one of the FTA meetings in Seoul.

You want some more “spirit of the alliance” from the PSPD? How about this quote from them after the defeat in local elections of the ruling Uri Party:

Mr. Kim of the PSPD said, “The Roh Moo-hyun government should look back to its identity. In the past, the government said it would resolve economic polarization, but it pushed talks for a free trade agreement with the U.S. In addition, the government said it would say what it has to say in diplomacy, but it allowed the U.S. forces to move their base to Daechu-ri.”

The PSPD has been one of the leading groups trying to stop the USFK transformation and relocation to Camp Humphreys and now all of the sudden they are one of the biggest defenders of the “spirit of the alliance”.

The “spirit of the alliance” doesn’t end there. The PSPD has in the past joined forces with North Korean apologists the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) which last year was linked to a North Korean spy ring, to attack the very alliance the PSPD are now advocating:

In the declaration, they demanded that the U.S. government apologize for crimes involving GIs, thoroughly investigate the massacres of Koreans during the Korean War and offer compensation. They also called for an immediate closure of the Koon-ni bombing range in Maehyang-ri, Kyonggi Province and revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the U.S. and south Korea.

The 200 figures who signed the declaration included former Deputy Prime Minister Han Wan Sang; Kang Man Gil, professor emeritus at Korea University; Kim Jong Bae, co-leader of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) and Dang Byong Ho, chief of the south Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).

There is more, but I think everyone gets the picture of who the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy group really is. There is plenty more absurdity to come and one of my noted useful idiots Chung Dong-young never fails to deliver. Courtesy of the Marmot’s Hole is this letter to President Bush from the former Korean Unification Minister:

If the 23 (now 21) hostages were American and not Korean, we ask what would the US have done in this situation. Koreans believe that since this crisis is a part of the War on Terror, the US is the main party and not a third party. We appeal to the US to think of the hostages as Americans and take specific measures to solve this crisis.

We respect that there is a “seen principle” among nations that they should not negotiate with terrorists, but there is also an “unseen principle”. We remember the case where an American female journalist was released in exchange for five Iraqi female prisoners, which means there is a recognition that there is an exemption to the non negotiating principle.

Saving a life is more important than one’s obligations and profit. If Pres. Bush was to step forward and save the hostages, then people around the world will continue praising you for your determination, leadership, management, and love.

So who is Chung? Well he is just another one of these “spirit of the alliance” guys that has also just happened to blame the US for the Japanese colonization of the peninsula prior to World War II, blamed the US for the Korean War, and blamed the US for the Gwangju Incident. So it isn’t really surprising he is blaming the US now if the hostages die and of course he is not alone. Via Sonagi comes this quote from Roe Hoe-chan who I just featured in my latest Korea Finder:

Assemblyman Roe Hoe-chan said, “If the US doesn’t show sincerity with regard to the hostage crisis, it’ll practically be a declaration that the US doesn’t care about the safety of Koreans because of its own interests. It’ll be difficult for our citizens to tolerate that. He continued, “If hostages continue to be killed because of America’s rigid stance, anti-American sentiments will be even stronger than in the aftermath of the deaths of Hyo-sun and Mi-seon.”

It was only a matter of time before some demagogue tried to link this current crisis to the 2002 Armored Vehicle Accident for their own political advantage. The fact the Roe is the first to do it is not surprising in the least.

You can always count on Oh My News to keep the absurdity coming:

The South Korean government indirectly asked for the United States, which exercises undue influence over the Afghan government, to be more flexible with its principled policy not to negotiate with terrorists.

“Undue influence”? I think the fact that the US military liberated Afghanistan from the Taliban and has continued to pour blood and treasure into making Afghanistan a sustainable state for the past six years is DUE INFLUENCE, which Korea does not have because they have never been committed to fighting terrorism in the first place. The Roh administration could care less if the government of Afghanistan collapsed tomorrow if it wasn’t for the hostages. There is plenty more laughers in the Oh My News article, but I’ll leave everyone with this quote:

On top of this, the Taliban are also plunging the leadership of South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun into an even worse crisis, trouncing the whole South Korean diplomacy that, before the tragic incident occurred, has smoothly — and successfully to date — handled the North Korean nuclear issues. Namely, inter-Korean affairs have all of sudden dropped to sideshows in terms of foreign policy priorities.

You mean to tell me that North Korea firing missiles all over the Pacific Ocean, testing a nuclear bomb, reneging and then renegotiating a signed agreement that to this day they have failed to fully implement is a sign of Korea’s smooth and successful foreign diplomacy? If this is the case these hostages are most certainly doomed.

There is a whole lot more examples I can provide of the blame game being perpetuated against the United States, but I think it is pretty clear the blame America campaign is currently in overdrive. The fact is that the Korean left and their media allies could care less about these hostages because according to Representative Roe’s own admission, they are trying to turn the hostage crisis into an anti-US issue equivalent to what happened in 2002. Remember it took months for the media and the activist groups to distort what happened during the accident that year in order to set the conditions necessary for the anti-US orgy of hate that took place, that ultimately led to the leftist Roh Moo-hyun being elected president.

The Korean left has no chance of winning the presidential election this year in Korea unless they can find another anti-US issue to rally behind. Chung Dong-young is one of the leftist candidates running for president thus expect him to lead the charge to blame the US for any future deaths of the hostages and use his North Korean linked activist groups to push it on the public. This is the real “spirit of the alliance” in Korea.