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U.S. President George W. Bush
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U.S. President George W. Bush said Wednesday that the U.S. had a duty to maintain a strong military presence in Korea. On the Wednesday program of NBC's Today, Bush was asked what he though of Sen. John John McCain's statement that the reduction of U.S. forces in Korea by one third was the most dangerous thing since the Korea War. Bush said he didn't agree.
The U.S. president said that he would do nothing to weaken the U.S. position in Korea, and claimed that if anyone knew North Korea, it was he. He said he read the intelligence reports and knew the threats posed by Kim Jong-il. Bush said , however, that he knew the U.S. had a duty to maintain a strong military presence in North Korea, not simply for stability on the Korean Peninsula, but for stability in the entire region.
He said what had been done in Korea was to appropriately redeploy men and equipment that were appropriate for the past for a future-style conflict. He said the U.S. position in Korea has been strengthened, not weakened.
Meanwhile, U.S. Democratic Party presidential candidate John Kerry said that after becoming president, he would reduce the burden on the U.S. military and put forth a winning strategy for the war against terror, and said that as time passes, North Korea was growing more dangerous. Ahead of this, Kerry indicated that he opposed Bush's plans to reduce U.S. forces overseas, pointing to the North Korean nuclear threat on the Korean Peninsula.
Kerry, speaking at a National American Legion Convention, said that if he were to become President, he would add 40,000 active-duty troops to reduce the burden on the military and more than double the number of special operations personnel.
He said that out of 10 U.S. divisions, nine were either in Iraq, deploying to Iraq, had just returned from Iraq, or preparing to leave for Iraq. He said that with North Korea and Iran becoming more of a danger, the burden and pressure on U.S. forces was increasing.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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