Can We Leave Yet?

Thank goodness blogs have time stamps for historic moments such as this one. Roh Moo Hyun has finally said something I agree with.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said Wednesday that it is time for South Korea to shift to a stand-alone diplomacy toward the United States.

“So far, we have made a success through dependence on the U.S. Now it’s time to choose an independent course of diplomacy,” the president said at an American chapter meeting of the National Unification Advisory Council in Seoul.

“But living a dependent life is different from living independently and maintaining a close friendship. The two countries will remain friends forever.”

Roh expressed concerns about potential conflicts between China and Japan, or between China and the U.S., but ruled out the recurrence of aggression.

Because it’s absurd to suggest that South Korea could set such a course while the USFK remains for South Korea’s exclusive use, rule out that possibility for a moment. Leave aside the fact that this absurdity is probably lost on Roh himself, and that he probably thinks it’s possible to be both dependent and independent at the same time. Leave aside the fact that Roh’s distorted view of the United States is a perfect example of the unhealthy animosity that results when dependency outlives necessity. Leave aside the fact that this may be mostly hot air and pre-election pandering from a desperate politician trying to whip up his base. Nothing but the fall of Kim Jong Il in a democratic revolution tomorrow would be healthier for Korea’s nationhood than the withdrawal of the USFK and for a healthier U.S.-Korean relationship.*

A post-USFK Korea will have choose its leaders wisely and live with the consequences of those leaders’ policies. It will have to maintain normal relations with other nations and make mature distinctions between friends and foes. Only then is Korea’s relationship with the United States is actually likely to show long-term improvement.

The facts are these: (1) you’re not independent if someone else is protecting you; (2) it’s human nature to resent those on whom you depend; and (3) that resentment is increasing in intensity and mutuality to a point where the broader relationship will become unsustainable.

* I retain my ambivalent position on whether the military benefits of keeping some U.S. air and naval forces based on Korea outweigh the political costs. That depends on events I lack the clairvoyance to predict.
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