I can remember when the US military disposed of Saddam’s Army in Baghdad and the mass looting of the city commenced. I didn’t know it at the time, because I was there in the middle of the chaos that the media was bashing the military for not stopping the looting of the city. At that time the looting was pretty bad, but not as bad as the media made it out to be and I remember thinking, do people expect us to arrest and shoot people in the middle of a war for loading up a sofa in the back of their truck?

Watching TV today I couldn’t help but think how did people expect us to stop looting in Baghdad when we can’t even stop looting in New Orleans? So it is with a sense of irony that I watch the same media that was bashing the Army during the war is now bashing the New Orleans police department and Louisiana National Guard for not stopping the looters.

I tend to look at this realistically. The New Orleans policemen all had homes and families to were wiped out by the hurricane. Do you think the police is going to tell their families to sit on top of their house’s roof while they go off and stop people from stealing TVs. Plus the police had few vehicles to use to patrol with because their police cars were under water just like everyone elses. It is the same story with the National Guard. The guard is composed of the same community swamped by the hurricane.

It is going to take time to get the police and National Guard organized in this situation. Nobody has a perfect plan to deal with something like this and the media tends to blow every rumor way out of proportion and treat them as fact. They did the same thing in Baghdad. Yes, there was looting going on but it wasn’t as bad as the media made it out to be. I foresee the same thing in New Orleans. So please give the authorities in Louisiana the benefit of the doubt because I am sure they are trying their best to preserve order and save lives.

What I find most interesting about this is that when social controls are removed from a society, people begin to react to their most basic instincts of survival of the fittest. We saw it in Baghdad and now you have seen it in New Orleans. What I wonder is what would happen if Seoul had a catastrophic natural disaster similar to New Orleans? What would the people’s reaction be? Would they begin looting? Would gangs begin to rove and car jack people? Would rapes occur? Does anybody think that Koreans would not also act similar if all social controls were removed? If not what do you think makes Koreans different?

Recently a book titled War Trash has been released that documents the experiences of Chinese POWs held by the US military during the Korean War.

Here are some excerpts of the book from Far Outliers:

The audience remained silent for a good minute after he finished speaking. I knew the medic and didn’t think he had made up the story. Wang Yong broke the silence: “The Reds used us like ammo. Look at the GIs, they all wear flak vests on the battleground. The U.S. government cares about their lives. How about us? How many of our brothers could’ve survived if they’d put on the vests like the GIs? Recently I came across an article. It reports that General Ridgway says the U.S. forces could absolutely push the Communist armies all the way back to the Yalu, but he won’t do that because he doesn’t want to sacrifice thousands of his men. Just imagine: what if the People’s Volunteer Army could drive the Americans down to the Pacific Ocean? Wouldn’t Mao Zedong sacrifice every one of the Volunteers to accomplish that goal? You bet he would. Didn’t he already send us here to be wasted like manure to fertilize Korean soil?…

Yes, Mao would of killed as many people as needed to accomplish his twisted goals. After the war, The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution killed far more Chinese than 3 years of fighting in the Korean War.

Wang’s analogy of us to human fertilizer revived thoughts I had been thinking for a long time. True enough, as Chinese, we genuinely felt that our lives were misused here, but as I have observed earlier, no matter how abysmal our situation was there were always others who had it worse. By now I understood why occasionally some Korean civilians were hostile to us. To them we had come here only to protect China’s interests–by so doing, we couldn’t help but ruin their homes, fields, and livelihoods. From their standpoint, if the Chinese army hadn’t crossed the Yalu, millions of lives, both civilian and military, would have been saved. Of course, the United States would then have occupied all of Korea, forcing China to build defenses in Manchuria, which would have been much more costly than sending troops to fight in our neighboring country. As it was, the Koreans had taken the brunt of the destruction of this war, whereas we Chinese were here mainly to keep its flames away from our border. Or, as most of the POWs believed, perhaps rightly, we had served as cannon fodder for the Russians. It was true that the Koreans had started the war themselves, but a small country like theirs could only end up being a battleground for bigger powers. Whoever won this war, Korea would be the loser.

The Chinese were to an extent cannon fodder for the Russians, but Mao Zedong was eager from the start to jump into this war but Kim Il Sung wouldn’t let him due to concerns about the Chinese wanting to subjugate Korea like the Chinese have in the past. Kim Il Sung only invited Chinese troops into the war once it was clear he had no chance of winning. If China had joined the war earlier the Pusan Perimeter would have never held and Korea would be a very different place today.

I also realized why some Koreans, especially those living south of the Thirty-eighth Parallel, seemed to prefer the American army to us. Not having enough food supplies or money, we had to press them for rice, sweet potatoes, any edibles, and sometimes we stole dried fish and chilies from under their eaves, grabbed crops from their fields and orchards, and even dug out their grain seeds to eat. By contrast, the Americans had everything they needed and didn’t go to the civilians for necessities. Whenever the U.S. troops decamped, the local folks would rush to the site to pick up stuff discarded by them, such as telephone wires, shell boxes, cartridge cases, half-eaten bread, cans, soggy cigarettes, ruptured tires, used batteries. We thought we had come all the way to help the Koreans, but some of us had willy-nilly ended up their despoilers.

If you ask some Koreans now a days, the US GI’s during the war only rounded up civilians and shot them underneath bridges. I will need to get this book soon and read it. I haven’t read a book yet on the Korean War from a Chinese soldiers perspective. So it should be interesting reading.

Oh My News has a good article about the candidates to fill the now vacant Korean soccer team coaching position:

It’s been a week since Jo Bonfrere “resigned” as South Korea’s coach and while the Korean Football Association hasn’t had much to say about who will be the Dutchman’s replacement, the media has had plenty to speculate about.

Some say the “big name” coaches haven’t been to South Korea and that with the World Cup only months away, the only option is to look closer to home to a coach who can hit the ground running and won’t head back to Europe as soon as the last ball is kicked next summer.

The article goes on to provide some good analysis of each candidate for the coaching job. However, what I find interesting that for a country as nationalistic as Korea, there is only one Korean coach being considered for the job. Former coach Joe Bonfrere was often criticized for his lack of communication with the players. Wouldn’t a Korean coach that speaks Korean be able to better get his point across to the players. Plus if the KFA is so concerned about a “big name” coach from Europe coming here and leaving right after the World Cup then they should hire someone here in Korea so you don’t have to worry as much about the coach running off after the World Cup. Anyway it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Whoever is hired I do not envy. They will be under intense pressure to turn things around here.

It appears Koreans are having a gas crisis of sorts. The Marmot provides this report:

According to the JoongAng Ilbo (Korean), Koreans fart a lot. Hey, don’t blame me for this one — blame the JoongAng. Anyway, the piece said that while it might be hard to draw a hard and fast conclusion, one could guess that Koreans break wind particularly often due to the large amount of gas-producing foods they consume — beans, veggies, fruits and raw foods. The rising consumption of milk doesn’t help matters, and those with trouble digesting lactose and the elderly with weakening digestive power are particularly susceptible to becoming, in the colorful choice of words by the JoongAng, “gas shells” (like in the WWI artillery round). For Koreans, it’s normal to cut the cheese between 15 and 25 times a day, although Kyung Hee University Hospital’s Kim Hyo-jong said it’s OK to occasionally expel gas more than that as long as it’s not accompanied by other symptoms. Frequent farting accompanied by other symptoms like abdominal pain, loss of appetite, weight loss and irregular bowl movements, however, may point to intestinal diseases.

Those whose frequent farting is cramping their style are advised to reduce their intake of foods like beans, veggies and milk and avoid gum, sugar and carbonated drinks. Eating slow, drinking little water and not talking during eating also helps, according to the JoongAng.

I’m glad to know that I have a healthy and happy colon.

USFK has finally made the decision to not hand over the PFC involved in the fatal accident in Dongducheon this past June:

U.S. Forces Korea on Tuesday declined a request from the South Korean government for criminal jurisdiction in the case of a U.S. soldier who was driving a military truck that struck and killed a South Korean woman in June, according to USFK.

Instead, the investigation of the case will remain within the U.S. military justice system, USFK spokesman David Oten said.

I’m glad to hear this because if he was given to the Korean court system he would of been sent to jail for something no Korean would of been sent to jail for. It has been my impression that Korean courts when US soldiers are involved are more concerned about satisfying public opinion then rendering justice. So it is good to see that USFK has finally made the decision to not throw this private to the wolves.

The soldier was on duty doing his job when the victim jaywalked in between cars on a busy highway when she was struck. This is a tragic accident, not a homicide as some people want you to believe. The driver has already apologized for the accident along with the USFK leadership and compensation payed. The family is satisfied with USFK’s response:

The victim’s family has told Stars and Stripes they believe it was an accident. They also said they hope that the incident would not draw protests and attention.

I do not think that this will cause to much of an uproar because I would think most fair minded people would understand this was a tragic accident. However, I’m sure the usual suspects (anti-USFK groups) will use this to further try and create the image of US soldiers getting away with crimes against Korean citizens.

You might not want to head over to Camp Humphreys on Saturday:

South Korean civic groups are banding together to press the U.S. military to deny a request from a U.S. Air Force lieutenant charged in an alleged shakedown of bars outside Osan Air Base to resign and avoid court-martial, a civic leader said Monday.

The groups will use a “big demonstration” planned for Saturday outside Camp Humphreys to highlight their concerns over the case of 1st Lt. Jason D. Davis and say they’ll mount larger rallies later if the Air Force allows Davis to resign, said Kim Yong-han, president of the Task Force To Oppose The Expansion of U.S. Bases in Pyeongtaek.

You may remember that 1LT Davis was in charge of the Osan town patrol and was allegedly shaking down bar owners for money and sex and along with other strange behavior. He also has a Korean weapons charge violation hanging against him too that the protesters hope to cash in on:

Activists also have written to the South Korean Ministry of Justice asking that if the Air Force allows Davis to resign that South Korean authorities bar him from leaving the country so they can prosecute him on weapons charges they previously have said they’re considering.

I find it interesting that these “civic groups” act like they are the ones that determine who gets charged with what crimes. It does seem that way after the driver of the fatal traffic accident in Dongducheon this past June was charged by the Korean police after the activists demanded it and USFK is actually thinking about turning the kid over. It would be a shame if they do.

However, as much as 1LT Davis deserves to be turned over to the Koreans, USFK shouldn’t turn him over either because then the activists would demand that every soldier on duty be turned over to the South Korean courts. It would be a bad precedence to set. He should be turned over for any crimes he did commit off duty which I fully expect USFK to do. As far as 1LT Davis’s attempt to resign his commission, I just don’t see that happening. He will stand trial and be punished for whatever he did.

Here is some more info on Saturday’s protest:

Saturday’s demonstration is set for 3 p.m. in Daechu-ri, a tract of farmland just outside Camp Humphreys, which is in the Anjung-ri section of Pyeongtaek City.

The rally originally was scheduled to protest a plan between the United States and South Korea under which U.S. forces in Seoul and points north would move south, mainly to Camp Humphreys. The plan would see Camp Humphreys triple in size by 2008.

Notice that the protesters are returning to the adjacent farm land around Camp Humphreys to protest because the business owners in Anjung-ri do not want the protesters in their town. I would expect that the protesters will resort to violence like they did during the July 10th protest. So unless you absolutely have to go to Camp Humphrey’s Saturday it would be in your best interest to avoid the place all together.

Then:

1951 North Korean Worker’s Party Building in Chorwon

Now:

The Worker’s Party Building Today

This is going to be a tough practice to change:

The name tags would help avoid the common practice of soldiers addressing South Korean base workers as “ajoshi” (uncle) or “ajuma” (aunt). Several South Korean employees had come forward with badge designs since the proposal was made, Newton said.

Kang Hyung-do, the USFK Korean Employee Union’s Uijeongbu chapter president, said he understands U.S. soldier’s use the words to be friendly with base employees, but that long-term workers — and younger employees — find the terms offensive.

“We think Col. Newton’s proposal is really great, affirmative and encouraging for us,” Kang said. “We hope this … can help to improve the human rights of our Korean employees.”

I didn’t know I was committing human rights violations by calling the taxi driver ajushi. We better start putting these soldiers on trial in the Hague for daily human rights violations.

But seriously this is going to be a tough practice to change because everyone thinks that ajushi/ajuma is what the Koreans are supposed to be called in their language. Name tags will help to an extent because if I can see a person name I will use it. Many AAFES workers already wear name tages. Taxi drivers and bus drivers you can’t see their names when their driving. We’ll just have to see how this plays out but hopefully it doesn’t get blown out of proportion.

The Marmot has more on this on his site.

The South Korean Defense Minister defends the MacArthur statue in Incheon:

On his one-year anniversary as the head of the Defense Ministry, Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung publicly opposed yesterday the removal of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur’s statue from Incheon’s Freedom Park.

He also worried over certain civic groups’ “unreasonable and inappropriate” rallies to remove the statue. “The statue of General Douglas MacArthur was erected with money donated by the residents of Incheon to commemorate the general’s feat during the Korean War,” Mr. Yoon said at a gathering of the ministry’s top-level officers. “The request for removal of the statue will cause confusion to the values Koreans share and will scar professional soldiers in Korea.”

Good to see Minister Yoon defend the statue. Now if only President Roh would do the same.

Some retired Korean generals are also defending the statue:

… around 120 retired generals rallied yesterday in front of the statue at Freedom Park, saying they will take any measure to protect the statue of General MacArthur.

I have always maintained that the Korean and US militaries have always gotten along well, it is at the political level where all the problems in the ROK-US alliance reside. The MacArthur statue controversy tends to reinforce that belief because the ROK military has taken a stand on this issue yet the leading politicians have yet to weigh in. Where is the leadership in this country?

Deceased ROK soldiers were honored yesterday in a ceremony in Seongnam. The soldiers drowned during training near the Imjim River near the DMZ. This isn’t the first time soldiers have drowned in the Imjim and probably won’t be the last. The training areas near the Imjim River are very vulnerable to flash flooding and extreme caution this time of year needs to be used for units training up there.

USFK commander General Leon LaPorte also attended the ceremony. General LaPorte is a big backer of the ROK military so this is no surprise that he attended to offer his condolescenses. Anyone know if President Roh attended or any other high government official outside of the Defense department attended this ceremony? I looked all over the available Korean media sites and couldn’t find anything. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if no one did attend considering how the Roh administration didn’t care to attend a ceremony honoring sailors killed in combat during a North Korean naval ambush in 2002. If that isn’t a big deal, what’s some soldiers drowning in the Imjim to them.