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¡°In the space of just 37 months, the United States of America lost a total of more than 36,000 of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines...We will maintain our presence there. America's commitment to peace in the region, and to the security of our friends, is unbreakable.¡±
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney told those gathered at an armistice anniversary held at the Korean War Memorial in Washington on Thursday, "We will maintain our presence there. America's commitment to peace in the region, and to the security of our friends, is unbreakable." He reminded them that South Korea has grown into the third largest economy in Asia today on the sacrifice of the fallen.
When the Korea-U.S. alliance was established, in 1953, South Korea's per-capita income was US$67 and GDP $1.3 billion. Last year our per-capita income stood at $16,291 and GDP at 787.5 billion. With a GDP 605 times what it was 52 years ago, South Korea has become the 13th richest country in the world, and that miraculous growth was made possible because the Korea-U.S. alliance ensured our survival and enabled us to sell as many products as we could to liberal democracies around the world. Supported by improved living standards, we established the foundations of democracy.
The U.S. cites the Seoul-Washington alliance as a model case. No other country achieved growth and democratization with U.S. military and economic aid in such a short time. South Korea is an exemplary case in Asia where the market economy and democracy have taken firm root.
If Cheney emphasized that the Korea-U.S. alliance is unbreakable, it may have been out of a concern that it could well break if things carry on the way they are -- a natural concern when our unification minister says the U.S.¡¯ North Korea policy ¡°failed the most¡± when the North launched its missiles and our president blusters, "Can't a minister say that U.S. policy failed in that regard?"
An alliance starts with a shared perception of threats. It¡¯s not much of an alliance if one partner spots a threat and the other says, ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± Cheney's remarks can thus be read as a plea to think again how precious the Korea-U.S. alliance is for our two countries.
We South Koreans have prospered in the shade of a tree called the Korea-U.S. alliance which our leaders planted over five decades ago. An administration that comes and goes in a mere five years must not be admitted to uproot that tree for short-term political gain.
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