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At the APEC meeting in Bangkok scheduled for next Monday, President Roh Moo-hyun is supposed to have a summit meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush. It's been a month already since the United States has requested Korean troops for service in Iraq, so whatever the decision is going to be, Roh needs to convey some sort of position. Whether troops are going to Iraq or whether they're not, when the two leaders meet it would be desirable for U.S.-Korea relations that there be more developed substance to the deployment discussion.
The question has gotten to the point at which it just can't be left for time to expire like this any longer, when the domestic situation is turning the direct opposite of what it was. You get the feeling that ever since the vote of confidence on the president issue exploded onto the scene, all discussion about sending combat troops to Iraq has been lost to the wayside, and we're even hearing calls for the decision to be tabled until after the confidence question has been cleared up. From the perspective of those beyond our borders the confidence issue is a domestic Korean issue, hardly reason for us to be undecided about troops.
Now we have Kim Keun-tae, floor leader of the "ruling party in spirit," the People's Participatory and Unity Party, saying on the National Assembly floor that it's "regrettable that government officials are giving their views on the issue of troops before an official decision has been made." He said also that the president should deal out strict rebuke should this continue. He sounds like he's calling for "prudent consideration" of the issue, but in fact he might as well be trying to keep discussion from happening within government quarters.
If the government and the ruling camp continue to use the confidence vote question to hold off on a decision about troops for Iraq with this utterly vague approach, then they might as well state now a clear position and take responsibility for the consequences. That would be the right thing to do.
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