Wednesday, August 15, 2018

No Peace on the Korean Peninsula

On a regular basis, if not daily, a story will appear in the mainstream press which pretty much tells it like it is.

In yesterday's national edition of The New York Times international correspondent Edward Wong gave readers a snapshot of the beating heart of the United States, "Why Is the U.S. Wary of a Declaration to End the Korean War?"

Because the U.S. is a warfare state, plain and simple, particularly now that its soft power and its economic supremacy are on the wane.

Wong's story says that North and South Korea are unified in the goal to bring an official end to the Korean War. The U.S. is opposed. The problem with U.S. opposition is that it is stalling out denuclearization of Korean Peninsula.

By the end of Wong's dispatch the reader knows the real reason why the U.S. doesn't want a formal declaration of peace:
American officials worry a peace declaration could dilute the U.S. military in Asia.
Although a peace declaration is not the same as a binding peace treaty, it would start the process for one. That would mean talking about how many American troops are needed in South Korea. Before the Singapore meeting, Mr. Trump ordered the Pentagon to prepare options for drawing down the troops there now.
For some American officials, the troop presence in South Korea is not just a deterrent toward North Korea. It also helps the United States maintain a military footprint in Asia and a grand strategy of American hegemony.
China has already begun challenging the United States’ military presence in Asia, which will only be reinforced as China becomes the world’s biggest economy and modernizes its military.
The officials also worry that President Moon Jae-in of South Korea might try to push for a lesser American military presence, or a weakening of the alliance, after an end-of-war declaration.
“For the United States, an end-of-war declaration or a peace declaration or a peace treaty has always had a broader context,” Mr. Yun said.
The U.S. doesn't want peace. There will be no peace.

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