Uri Party has Invaded Camp Casey

Yesterday Uri Party law makers took their show on the road to Camp Casey to meet with USFK commanding general Leon LaPorte. When asked about anti-Americanism in Korea the general responded:

General Leon LaPorte, commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, said yesterday in a meeting with Lee Bu-young, chairman of the governing Uri Party, and 10 Uri Party lawmakers that anti-U.S. sentiment in Korea did not bother him because he was proud defending a democracy where such freedom of expression is possible.

Here is something that really infuriates me by these pin head Uri politicians.

Addressing the causes of anti-Americanism in Korea, the Uri Party chairman claimed that an accident in June 2002, in which two girls were killed by a U.S.-armored vehicle participating in a training exercise in Uijeongbu City, could have been prevented with more caution.

First of all the accident didn’t even happen in Uijeongbu, it actually happened in the country side of the city of Yangju. So if you are going to make accusations at least get the location right. Secondly the army does bare some responsibility for the accident but not any more than the Korean government. The accident happened because two convoys of oversized armored vehicles were approaching each other on a very narrow country road. The convoy with what is called a AVLB which is a large tracked vehicle with a bridge on the top of it had to manuever to the shoulder of the road to avoid the on coming convoy. The driver of the AVLB cannot see to the right of his track due to his view being blocked by the armor of the track. So the driver is dependent on the track commander who sits on top to warn him of any hazards on the right side of the track. Due to some communications problems in the vehicle, the driver was not warned in time about the two girls who were walking on the side of the road. Why were they walking on the side of the road you ask. Well there are no sidewalks out there for pedestrians to walk on.

Many soldiers including myself have complained about the lack of sidewalks before the accident because there are so many civilians who walk on the roads that are in or near or training areas. Plus the civilians have grown so used to seeing large military equipment that they do not move out of the way of them.

So if the Uri politicians want to assign blame well let’s look at this. Guess who approves all convoy movements for 2ID? The ROK Army does. Guess who makes the roads in Korea? Yes, you guessed right the Korean government does not the US Army. Who makes side walks in Korea? Yes again the Korean government. Imagine that. What blame can be placed on the army? The communication problem was definitely an army issue, but with military equipment you are going to have communication problems no matter what you do. Sensitive electronic equipment riding around in tactical vehicles means commo problems. Happens all the time. That is why other safety measures like wider roads and sidewalks are needed. If these measures were in place this accident would have never happened. The fact that no accident happened before this one is a tribute to how seriously 2ID takes convoy safety. I challenge anyone to find an organization that takes convoy safety as seriously as 2ID.

Quietly now the Korean government in the area the accident, is now widening the roads and making sidewalks. I just wish someone would challenge these pin heads when they are so quick to jump on the US military for this accident when there is an equal amount of blame that should be placed on the Korean government. Then again why should we expect any Korean politician to be held responsible for anything. It is easier just to blame America for everything. The life of a global scapegoat.

If I was talking to these guys I would of asked the politician if he knew how narrow the roads were and why there was a lack of sidewalks to begin with. They probably didn’t even know about these facts because nobody in media has put that information out there. I then would ask him what measures the Korean government is taking to ensure US soldiers are not kidnapped or stabbed and murdered by Korean civilians in the future. What you haven’t heard about these incidents in the fair and balanced Korean media!? Click Here to find out more. I would love to see their faces when challenged.

The army is to much of a punching bag here, sometimes we just need to punch back in an effort to inform and influence public opinion. The US chain of command has taken responsibility for the incident and apologized all the way up to the President of the United States. What has Korea done to accept in responsibility in this? Nothing, it easier to play the role of the small, weak country. It is easier to avoid any responsibility this way.