Korean Job Discussion Forums

[conrad2]

[conrad2]

[The Happy Warrior]

America will be down-sized from hyperpower to superpower.

That is all.

[captain kirk]

[Wishmaster]

Good. First stop, get the troops out of the Middle East. Next, get them out of South Korea. Korea has too much wealth and needs to learn to stand on its own. The US should not be here. If they want to mess with China, they still got the bases in Japan. But the US needs to leave Korea and let them deal with their own problems. Stop babying them.

[gypsyfish]

They've been closing military bases both inside and out side the USA for years.

USA = Roman Empire, maybe, but don't hold your breath.

[The Happy Warrior]

[rollo]

China and Japan do not want the U.S. troops out of Korea!!! Nor do the Koreans. This will probably be the American century as we retool our educational system and extend our technological lead. The recent bad economic times are what will force the U.s. to become better.

[Epik_Teacher]

[mc_jc]

The base realignments are part of the Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) program that has been consolidating CONUS bases for almost a decade.
The base closures in Areas I, III, IV and V in Korea are to;
- Provide convenient logistical support for Battalion and Brigade Combat Teams for when they train and deploy.
- To pull troops out of North Korean artillery distance and relocate them south of the Han River, something they have been talking about for years.
- To supplement the transfer of command and to fulfill the US' commitment to returning land to the Korean gov't and KMoD
- To save money

As for the DoA being overstretched- the past two administrations are asking the Army to do the same job with only 10 active divisions that was traditionally tasked to 20 divisions after the DoD formulated its two-war strategy in the aftermath of WWII.

[sirius black]

I agree we should close many bases overseas (as well as a few domestic ones). Also agree America is a waning power.
America will probably become like the UK. Once the worlds greatest power. Still important and still has influence but no where close to what it once was.

China is the most likely inheritor of America's top place. India, most likely to become China's biggest check with Russia, America and Japan doing what they can as well.

China has become the 2nd biggest economy very, very quickly. At the current pace they will pass America in about 20 years.

America has inherent problems that will keep the current slide going. First and foremost ist that the Congress and usually the President is owned by special interest groups: big oil, unions, the military/industrial complex, AIPAC, big banks/financial instuttions, drug companies, etc. These groups are the ones that fund the campaigns so they are the ones the politicians listen to.

Second, the people have no collective will to right the wrong. We live in a 'now' society. We've sold out the future generation for what we want now. Too many voters either don't vote, are ignorant as to what is really going on, selfish or know but have given up because they are a pebble of sand in a sea of problems.

The constitution as we know it is just a piece of paper. I think we have already declined but need one more event to prove it.

England was still reputed to be the worlds super power before WW2 but America had already passed it in GNP after the turn of the centrury. We were isolationsists (like China was) and were really the biggest power in fact but not in reputation. WW2 was the event that made it official.

China is the worlds super power now. It owns America's debt. It has removed America as the biggest trade partner or will remove us soon from a myriad of countries including allies. We were once Brazil's, Korea's, Japan's biggest trade partners. China has replaced us. China is now the biggest investor in Africa, they own Africa now. Its not common knowledge but they have the biggest influence in subsaharan Africa.

They are now in America's backyard, south America, in a big way. The Monroe Doctrine has ended. China is Brazil's biggest trae partner and is set to be the biggest partner of other south american countries, replacing the U.S.

We're like the Roman Empire in the last century. They ere a gilded empire, gold coating glossed over an empire that was long dead before the barbarians stormed the gates of Rome.

Its over. It was a nice ride. My advice. Learn mandarin. Seriously, no joke.

[Joe Boxer]

Closing military bases in Asia could lead to a very nasty situation in which the Greater Korean Republic takes over most of East Asia and then launches an attack on the US!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikNcAzIp_EY

[mc_jc]

The world's perception of the decline of the US came on 9/11- the terror attacks showed the world that the US was as vulnerable to large-scale terror attacks as the rest of the world.

The problem in the US is that much of its bureaucracy and infrastructure is complacent and decaying. Much of infrastructure dates back to the 1970�s-1980 and the bureaucracy dates back further. The US has done very little to invest in the modernization of its infrastructure because, as another poster had said, Washington and Capitol Hill are influenced by special interest groups that profit off the status quo.
As for public indifference- it is because of the lower-middle class' (which make up a large portion of the population) ignorance of what is going on in politics. Most simply feel that their voice doesn't matter and many are now disenchanted with Obama for what many in the public see as his lies to get elected.

As for the war on terror- to be extremely frank, many officials blame the Civil Rights Act for it. Since the passing of the Civil Rights Act, the US has been very careful not to inflame or 'hurt' a minority in the US, namely the Islamic community these days. Also, the US wants to show the world that it can fight extremism 'humanely' and not do or say anything that would inflame the 2.1 Billion muslims in the world. Right now, the US is giving international terror suspects the same rights as citizens of the US.
But because of the US' alliance with Israel, many muslims feel that the US is against them.
The sad truth of what is going on now is that, up until the invasion of Iraq, a good portion of the muslim world supported the US' fight against Al Qaeda and many Afghans here believed the US were liberators.
But, I will say, that it was the US' negligence here during the past 8 years that had fueled Afghans' hatred toward the US as well as IFOR and the UN. Had the US fulfilled its obligation here in Afghanistan and started rebuilding the country right after they overthrew the Taliban, things would be different.
Now IFOR and the US are stuck in the same quagmire the Soviets were in during the 80's, except this time the insurgency is being funded by Saudi Arabia and the UAE with weapons being supplied by both Russia and China that are being funneled through Iran and Pakistan.
Both Russia and China are hoping that there support here in Afghanistan will give everyone involved something;
- China would get mineral and natural resources from the government
- Russia would have access to the Indian Ocean with Russian officials having open talks with the Taliban to allow shipping to go through Afghanistan.
- Pakistan would have an important ally against India in case of conflict because of Kashmir
- Iran would have access to eastern Afghanistan to help prevent smugglers from sending opium and heroine into Iran

I don't think the US is going to collapse, but many politicians are calling for a new isolationist policy, especially the Republicans (especially those affiliated with the Tea Party). These days, many American government officials are talking about 'cleaning house' before getting involved in international affairs.
Which makes sense.


Another thing is that the US is starting a massive arms build-up among its allies in several regions-
Saudi Arabia and Israel in the Middle East
-India in Southeast Asia
- Japan and Korea in Asia
- Columbia in South America
- Georgia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus
- Mali and Mauritania in West Africa
- Tunesia and Egypt in North Africa
- Ethiopia and Kenya in East Africa
- Poland, Czech Republic, Romania in Eastern Europe
- UK, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Portugal in Western Europe

The idea behind this is to arms influencial nations who would play a big role in their regions in the absence of a US presence. The goal is to arm and train the allies to the point that they could do the job of taking care of possible conflicts that might arise.

As for Korea, the airbases will stay (including the nuclear warheads that are on Osan, Munsan and Kunsan AFB), but most of the troops will be out by 2025- most of you will get what you wished for