And we still control it!
"North Korea Still a Threat, South Korean Tells Gates" by THOM SHANKER
SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 7 — The American military force stationed in South Korea has been diminishing. Three years ago, 37,500 American military personnel were in South Korea. One American brigade formerly based in South Korea deployed to Iraq in 2004. The current American presence here is 28,000, which will drop to 25,000 by 2012.
South Korea fields 680,000 in its armed forces, which are among the most modern in Asia.
They have 680k in armed forces?
What are we still doing there after all these years?
In 2012, the South Korean military is to take over wartime operational control of its own forces, a command responsibility previously exercised by the American four-star general here.
Ha-ha! An American general still controls "their" armed forces!
Some independence! Pfffftttttt!
Underscoring the importance of the alliance with South Korea, Mr. Gates was joined here by Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of American forces in the Pacific; and Gen. B. B. Bell, the American commander in South Korea."
Then it was a big dealio!
