Though officials had previously been threatening a return to large-scale military exercises in South Korea, the Pentagon has once again agreed with South Korea to dramatically scale back a major exercise, in this case the spring 2019 wargames.
This is Foal Eagle, which is usually one of the major Korea wargames for the US, and usually a big source of tensions with North Korea. According to Defense Secretary James Mattis it will be scaled back enough that it won’t threaten ongoing diplomacy.
This may prove controversial, as Gen. Robert Abrams had recently told the Senate that the reduction in wargames was degrading the readiness of US military forces inside South Korea. Between that and some not being on board for North Korea diplomacy in general, this may see some resistance.
It’s unclear how the US and South Korea decided to scale this particular exercise back, though usually such actions have come at the behest of South Korea, who both has more to lose from foiling diplomacy, and has made side deals with the north to prevent any incidents fueling tensions.
the Pentagon has once again agreed with South Korea to dramatically scale back a major exercise
No agreement was necessary. US General Robert B. Abrams is commander United Nations Command (UNC), Combined Forces Command (CFC) and US Forces Korea (USFK). The CFC has operational control over more than 600,000 active-duty military personnel of all services, of both countries. . .here
Can’t get more puppet than that arrangement, which is unique in the world.
I believe the US command has been notified of minimal South Korean participation in exercises. US can choose to test just who they believe they are “commanding”, but the political embarrassment would far outweigh perceptions of military readiness. In fact, the purpose of the peace movement, is to decrease readiness.
No, actually it was a bump-up from what Trump said in August to what Mattis wants:
Don, you and i are not going to agree on the cause of US cancellation of exercises, but I will offer my circumstantial evidence. As you know, the Panmunjom agreement between the Koreas is the important document, both sides are taking steps to enact that agreement. For the South to participate in US exercises would be a violation of that agreement. Not desiring to humiliate the US, the south quietly informed them that they would not participate. This allowed trump to contend that cancellation was his idea, in the interest of peace, tho, exercises with the South were just not going to happen. Now if, the US had ever made any concessions, other than the exercises, and lip service, I would doubt my theory, yet, they have not. The US remains, peace is North Korea surrender. No one (outside the US) will forget what the US did to the effective inspection regime in Iraq, and now, Iran.
“Gen. Robert Abrams had recently told the Senate that the reduction in
wargames was degrading the readiness of US military forces inside South
Korea.” How terrible it would be the allow peaceful relations to develop and we would not even be needed.
Bourne’s war is the health of the state, 1918 —