Yankees Going Home

For reasons of pocketbook as well as policy, the U.S. is cutting its 3,500,000-member armed forces to 2,900,000 by mid-1971, and eventually to 2,500,000. At least part of the reduction will be made in overseas garrisons--and not just those in Viet Nam. Thus the Pentagon announced last month that the 62,000-man American force in South Korea would be cut by nearly one-third. Last week plans were announced to reduce the U.S. troop level in the Philippines from 24,000 to about 18,400 possibly by next July.

No sharp objection was expected from Philippine politicians, many of whom have been suggesting for years that the Yankees go home. In Korea, however, the reaction was quite different. President Chung Hee Park and Premier Chung II Kwon berated the U.S. for its decision. The Premier threatened to resign if the U.S. did not delay the withdrawal until 1976 and pledge $1 billion in military aid spread over five years to upgrade Korea's own forces.

Last week, at a conference in Honolulu, Korea pressed for reconsideration of the pullout. The U.S. indicated that the withdrawal was not negotiable. After two days of heated discussions, no timetable was agreed upon--though U.S. sources still expect up to 20,000 Army ground troops to be out by early next year. The U.S. did promise, however, to take several steps to bolster the 500,000-man ROK army.

Among the measures: the transfer of U.S. aircraft to Korea from other Pacific bases; the shift of Navy tracker planes for reconnaissance and antisubmarine patrols; and the accelerated development of defense industries in South Korea. The U.S. also reaffirmed a commitment to "render prompt and effective assistance" in the event of attack.

While the withdrawal of 20,000 men from Korea is partly motivated by economics. U.S. officials also explain it in terms of the Nixon Doctrine--that it is time for Korea to take care of itself, and that Korea is fully capable of doing so. Seoul disagrees violently. It maintains that withdrawal would gnaw away at the South's morale while bolstering the confidence of the North Koreans. Moreover, the South Koreans argue that without American firepower they would be lost in the event of another attack from the North. The North Koreans have a tough army equipped with modern weapons and bolstered by an air force that is far superior to the South's. ROK troops have proved themselves tenacious fighters in Viet Nam, but at home they must make do with World War II-vintage weaponry. At present the two armies, along with two U.S. divisions, are engaged in a nerve-racking confrontation across the 38th parallel's free-fire zone; though the truce line is guaranteed by the 1953 U.N. armistice, there are sporadic outbursts of shooting.

Beyond that, there are cash considerations. Withdrawal would directly affect 12,000 Korean workers now employed by the U.S. military, along with hundreds of small businesses. The various businesses dealing with the U.S. military take in an estimated $160 million per year and stand to lose a good part of that if the scheduled withdrawal goes through. "We cannot have an adequate military force and carry out a high economic growth policy at the same time on our present economic base," argues Economic Minister Hak Yul Kim.

The Japanese, however, will help cushion the impact. At the annual Cabinet-level meeting between the two countries, held last week in Seoul, the Tokyo government pledged $100 million worth of new loans and promised to study the possibility of $59 million more.

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