thedrifter
04-13-07, 07:31 AM
Top U.S. commander visits Seoul
By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press Writer
The new top commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific expressed confidence Friday in the military's ability to respond to any aggression by North Korea though the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have left him with fewer troops on the ground.
Adm. Timothy Keating is visiting South Korea for the first time since he assumed control of the U.S. Pacific Command last month. He was expected to discuss the U.S.-South Korea alliance with Korean leaders and have U.S. commanders brief him on the North Korean threat and the status of U.S. forces on the peninsula.
On his way to Seoul, Keating said in an interview that the U.S. has fewer soldiers and Marines at its disposal to deter any invasion of South Korea by the North. But the admiral said the U.S. has more air and naval resources on hand that it would not hesitate to use if necessary.
"The fact that there is a surge in the Middle East causes us to perhaps make accommodations in response plans that we would employ," Keating told The Associated Press while flying to South Korea from Japan, where he also stopped during a weeklong Asia-Pacific tour.
"I'm supremely confident in the U.S. military's ability to respond to any aggression by North Korea."
The admiral added that the U.S. military constantly monitored troop readiness and that President Bush's decision to send more forces to the Middle East wasn't making commanders watch readiness any more or less than usual.
Bush announced in December he would increase the number of troops in Iraq by 20,000. Last month he approved a plan to send another 4,000. Thousands more forces are also being sent to Afghanistan to boost U.S. and NATO efforts there.
The U.S. has about 28,000 troops, including 19,000 soldiers, in South Korea. The South Korean army has some 690,000 troops — including about 560,000 soldiers — ready to fight if the North invades.
North Korea's military comprises over 1.2 million troops, including some 1 million ground forces. Analysts say it is hampered by old equipment but still has 13,000 artillery tubes, including hundreds capable of showering Seoul with chemical weapons.
U.S. light infantry troops around the Pacific, such as Marines on Okinawa in southern Japan and soldiers based in Hawaii, are expected to provide backup if fighting erupts. Many of those troops, however, are already deployed or gearing up to return to Iraq and Afghanistan.
For example, some 7,000 soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division based at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii are currently in Iraq. On Wednesday, they received word their yearlong deployment would be extended 90 days.
The division has another roughly 4,000 soldiers in the 2nd Brigade currently in Hawaii. But that unit is the midst of training to become a Stryker Brigade and isn't expected to be certified for deployment until late this year.
Col. Franklin Childress, a spokesman for U.S. Forces Korea, said U.S. air and naval power was so overwhelming that North Korea would not even consider attacking. He said the U.S. has also repeatedly shown in exercises that it could rapidly fly reinforcements to the Korean peninsula on commercial airliners and military jets.
If war broke out, Childress added, U.S. force structure would change, enabling the U.S. to move more troops to the area.
Ralph Cossa, president of the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies, said air and naval power could compensate well in providing a deterrent amid a lack of U.S. ground troops.
But he said sailors and airmen could only do so much if the North decided to launch a sudden attack.
"If deterrence fails and you have to do something, that's when it becomes a problem," Cossa said.
Thomas Donnelley, a resident fellow in defense studies at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., said military coalitions required at least a minimum contribution on all fronts from all partners.
"Maintaining a posture where the United States would exclusively provide air power or naval support while the Koreans would do all the dirty work is a danger," Donnelley said.
This could create fissures in the U.S.-South Korean alliance, particularly if any conflict festered over time, he said.
Ellie
By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press Writer
The new top commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific expressed confidence Friday in the military's ability to respond to any aggression by North Korea though the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have left him with fewer troops on the ground.
Adm. Timothy Keating is visiting South Korea for the first time since he assumed control of the U.S. Pacific Command last month. He was expected to discuss the U.S.-South Korea alliance with Korean leaders and have U.S. commanders brief him on the North Korean threat and the status of U.S. forces on the peninsula.
On his way to Seoul, Keating said in an interview that the U.S. has fewer soldiers and Marines at its disposal to deter any invasion of South Korea by the North. But the admiral said the U.S. has more air and naval resources on hand that it would not hesitate to use if necessary.
"The fact that there is a surge in the Middle East causes us to perhaps make accommodations in response plans that we would employ," Keating told The Associated Press while flying to South Korea from Japan, where he also stopped during a weeklong Asia-Pacific tour.
"I'm supremely confident in the U.S. military's ability to respond to any aggression by North Korea."
The admiral added that the U.S. military constantly monitored troop readiness and that President Bush's decision to send more forces to the Middle East wasn't making commanders watch readiness any more or less than usual.
Bush announced in December he would increase the number of troops in Iraq by 20,000. Last month he approved a plan to send another 4,000. Thousands more forces are also being sent to Afghanistan to boost U.S. and NATO efforts there.
The U.S. has about 28,000 troops, including 19,000 soldiers, in South Korea. The South Korean army has some 690,000 troops — including about 560,000 soldiers — ready to fight if the North invades.
North Korea's military comprises over 1.2 million troops, including some 1 million ground forces. Analysts say it is hampered by old equipment but still has 13,000 artillery tubes, including hundreds capable of showering Seoul with chemical weapons.
U.S. light infantry troops around the Pacific, such as Marines on Okinawa in southern Japan and soldiers based in Hawaii, are expected to provide backup if fighting erupts. Many of those troops, however, are already deployed or gearing up to return to Iraq and Afghanistan.
For example, some 7,000 soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division based at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii are currently in Iraq. On Wednesday, they received word their yearlong deployment would be extended 90 days.
The division has another roughly 4,000 soldiers in the 2nd Brigade currently in Hawaii. But that unit is the midst of training to become a Stryker Brigade and isn't expected to be certified for deployment until late this year.
Col. Franklin Childress, a spokesman for U.S. Forces Korea, said U.S. air and naval power was so overwhelming that North Korea would not even consider attacking. He said the U.S. has also repeatedly shown in exercises that it could rapidly fly reinforcements to the Korean peninsula on commercial airliners and military jets.
If war broke out, Childress added, U.S. force structure would change, enabling the U.S. to move more troops to the area.
Ralph Cossa, president of the Hawaii-based Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies, said air and naval power could compensate well in providing a deterrent amid a lack of U.S. ground troops.
But he said sailors and airmen could only do so much if the North decided to launch a sudden attack.
"If deterrence fails and you have to do something, that's when it becomes a problem," Cossa said.
Thomas Donnelley, a resident fellow in defense studies at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C., said military coalitions required at least a minimum contribution on all fronts from all partners.
"Maintaining a posture where the United States would exclusively provide air power or naval support while the Koreans would do all the dirty work is a danger," Donnelley said.
This could create fissures in the U.S.-South Korean alliance, particularly if any conflict festered over time, he said.
Ellie