The Battle of the Hump, Part 2

They’re ba …. ack!

A day after the Defense Ministry forcefully evacuated protesters from an area in Pyeongtaek slated for the relocation of U.S. military installations, about 2,500 activists staged abrupt demonstrations by cutting through the fences built around the site of the future base.

About 2,000 protesters from around the nation broke through the police line to seal off the area from outsiders. They marched three hours to join about 500 other protesters who had been scouting in Daechu Village, where the base construction is slated.

Meanwhile, the Dong-A Ilbo and the Chosun Ilbo both lay into the government mishandling the issue and failing to justify both its actions and the reason for them. The Marmot asks why the U.S. side can’t tell us why our troops are even needed in Korea.

My own suspicion is that the Pentagon no longer accepts the major premise of the question. Washington is divided over many things, but I don’t see enough political support in Washington to hold onto the status quo. It’s really a question of how long, painful, and expensive the disengagement process will be.