Lee-Bush Talks

To the relief of South Koreans, U.S. President George W. Bush refrained from renewing a request for the dispatch of South Korean troops to Afghanistan when he met President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday. In a post-summit news conference, Bush said his request was confined to nonmilitary support for Afghan reconstruction.

Speculation on a troop dispatch was prompted by the remarks of Dennis Wilder, senior director for Asian affairs at the U.S. National Security Council. He said earlier, “Obviously, we’d like to see a greater role for South Koreans in Afghanistan if the South Korean people are willing to move in that direction.” He added that South Korea’s future role in Afghanistan would be at the core of the Lee-Bush talks.

Sending troops to Afghanistan again was not a politically viable option for the Lee administration. In December last year, South Korea completed the phased pullout of medics and engineers, putting an end to its six-year mission in Afghanistan. Public opinion was against the U.S. call for an extended deployment in the war-torn country, where two of the 23 South Korean voluntary workers taken hostage had been killed.

South Korea will be able to accommodate the U.S. call for nonmilitary support by dispatching police officers to help train the Afghan police force and expanding its “Provincial Reconstruction Team” of civilians, which has taken over the medical facilities that were managed by medics. For instance, the civilian mission could include a job-training program.

Another important agenda item for the Lee-Bush summit was the free trade agreement, which is awaiting ratification both in Korea and the United States. Bush told Lee that he would strive to have the agreement ratified before his term in office expires.

The agreement is stuck in limbo, as the U.S. Democratic Party, which has Congress under its control, is opposed to its ratification. Well aware of the Democratic sentiment, the South Korean National Assembly has made no attempt to launch a ratification process, despite the fact that the agreement is supported by major political parties.

But the National Assembly is well advised to ratify the accord when it opens a regular session next month. That will put pressure on the Democrats in the U.S. to reconsider their stance when the presidential election is over.