S Korean officials agree to send 3,000 troops on fact-finding mission Iraq

[dArKeR]

South Korea decided yesterday to send a fact-finding mission to Iraq next week following a controversial U.S .request to send thousands of troops to the war-torn country, officials said.

The United States has asked South Korea to send a brigade of 3,000 troops or a division of 10,000 which could operate on its own, spokesman Park Jin of the opposition Grand National Party said.

The decision to send a fact-finding mission was made at a meeting of the National Security Council, which is composed of government ministers and top officials in charge of national security and foreign affairs.

"Those attending the meeting shared the view that regardless of whether we send troops or not, we need to be informed in detail about the situation in Iraq and security," the NSC said in a press statement.

http://www.etaiwannews.com/Asia/2003/09/19/1063936225.htm

[expatriot]

1. Which fact do they have to find before they can return home?

The fact that it sucks to go on fact-finding missions to Iraq or the fact that Iraqi guerrillas are using live ammunition?

[saigon68]

14. KICK BACKS, GRAFT, PAYOFFS , BLATANT CORRUPTION & INDUCEMENTS

Wow --- and how much will their supervisors who are snuggly asleep in their beds in Seoul be paid??????

[E_Zapata]

2. And how much did it cost us to bribe them?

$1 bill? $2 bill?

[Robb]

10. Cha-CHING!!

The price? An implementation of an $11 BILLION plan to set up some brand-spankin' new Patriot-3 anti-missile batteries along the border with North Korea.

That would be the "tit" from the resulting "tat"....

[chenGOD]

12. The missiles are part of the plan....they are being met with

lots of protests here in Korea. The real reason for putting the missiles in place? So the US can say "we gave you these for protection, we'll pull our troops out now." Then bombs away on North Korea, and who cares if the North fires back, cause it's only the yellow people doing the dying again.

But yeah that's part of it.....

[MaineDem]

3. What is a "fact-finding" mission with troops?

More of the best money can buy, eh?

[Guaranteed]

4. Kennedy's statement sure does...

...put a different hue on this.

[PATRICK]

5. Blackmail

It will do them no good with the current administration to send Empire mercenaries. The frightening agenda of the WH is set in concrete and the whole of SK has no say in it ever. Yet is easy to see why they will try.

[NNN0LHI]

6. It takes 3000 troops to do some "fact-finding"?

Don't the get a newspaper over there or what? This is funny.

Don

[htuttle]

7. That headline is messed up and misleading (but is what the article uses)

They are NOT sending 3,000 troops on a fact finding mission.

They are sending a fact-finding mission (of an unspecified size) to decide whether or not to send 3,000 troops:

"Those attending the meeting shared the view that regardless of whether we send troops or not, we need to be informed in detail about the situation in Iraq and security," the NSC said in a press statement.

I believe Japan did the same thing, and seems to have decided that the 'facts found' indicate they should stay at home. I'd expect the South Koreans to come to the same conclusion.

[Ashcroft Kutcher]

8. are they going by Bush's definition of fact

or the factual definition of fact. There is a big difference.

[chenGOD]

9. The big problem is that the GNP controls the Korean parliament.

The GNP is the Grand National Party. A very conservative political party, that would like to go back to the days of North Korea as "Enemy#1". Do you think it's a coincidence that the chairman of the GNP has been spending the last 8 days in Washington? They have a lot of supporters in the general public, especially with the older generation.

[madashellwontgo]

11. ROK won't go full throttle until . . .

the big boys at the UN gives a go. “Public opinion would be more favorable (to South Korea extending its military presence to Iraq) if the United Nations passes the resolution on sending a multilateral force there,” GNP spokesman Park Jin quoted Choe as telling Anan.
See http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2003/09/20/200309200053.asp

The monky better bow big time to UN to get everyone on board. He's toast.

[chenGOD]

13. Although that's what they say in public, in reality...

the GNP could care less about public opinion. They sent troops to Afghanistan, to great public outcry. They'll do the same in this case I would imagine.