ID :
190776
Fri, 06/24/2011 - 00:46
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/190776
The shortlink copeid
Clinton presents S. Korea as lesson for Afghan policy
(ATTN: UPDATES with senator's comments in last two paras)
By Lee Chi-dong
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) - Aiming to convince senators of the viability of the Barack Obama administration's Afghanistan policy, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday cited South Korea as a successful "investment" case.
"You look at the decades of our investment in South Korea," she said, facing a barrage of questions in a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee aimed at clarifying Washington's policy and progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Her testimony came a day after Obama announced a plan to bring home 10,000 troops in Afghanistan by the end of this year and 23,000 more by the end of next summer, heralding a major shift in the 10-year war there. The U.S. will keep 68,000 troops in the country.
Clinton called for a long-term view to counter worries over huge costs and growing casualties.
"I think it's important for us to maybe take a step back and look at other countries that the United States made investments in over long periods of time," she said.
She pointed out tens of thousands of American troops have been stationed in South Korea since the 1953 armistice that effectively ended a war between the two Koreas. Currently, around 28,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed on the peninsula.
"You look at the coups that took place, you look at the stop-and-start efforts of democracy, you look at the massive corruption, you look at the thousands of American troops that we kept there, and we not only provided military protection against North Korea, we also, in effect, helped to model and support what is now a vibrant democracy and a very strong economy," Clinton stressed.
She added the effort has been in Washington's strategic interests and in concert with American values.
Sen. James Webb (D-VA) said he was not in full agreement with Clinton's analogy, comparing Washington's long-term commitment to Seoul with the situation in Afghanistan.
"Our situation in Korea is in one of the most vital areas commercially and in terms of large powers in the world... Northeast Asia is the only place where the direct interests of the United States, China, Japan and Russia intersect. And Korea is kind of the bull's-eye in the middle of that," he said.
By Lee Chi-dong
WASHINGTON (Yonhap) - Aiming to convince senators of the viability of the Barack Obama administration's Afghanistan policy, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday cited South Korea as a successful "investment" case.
"You look at the decades of our investment in South Korea," she said, facing a barrage of questions in a meeting of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee aimed at clarifying Washington's policy and progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Her testimony came a day after Obama announced a plan to bring home 10,000 troops in Afghanistan by the end of this year and 23,000 more by the end of next summer, heralding a major shift in the 10-year war there. The U.S. will keep 68,000 troops in the country.
Clinton called for a long-term view to counter worries over huge costs and growing casualties.
"I think it's important for us to maybe take a step back and look at other countries that the United States made investments in over long periods of time," she said.
She pointed out tens of thousands of American troops have been stationed in South Korea since the 1953 armistice that effectively ended a war between the two Koreas. Currently, around 28,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed on the peninsula.
"You look at the coups that took place, you look at the stop-and-start efforts of democracy, you look at the massive corruption, you look at the thousands of American troops that we kept there, and we not only provided military protection against North Korea, we also, in effect, helped to model and support what is now a vibrant democracy and a very strong economy," Clinton stressed.
She added the effort has been in Washington's strategic interests and in concert with American values.
Sen. James Webb (D-VA) said he was not in full agreement with Clinton's analogy, comparing Washington's long-term commitment to Seoul with the situation in Afghanistan.
"Our situation in Korea is in one of the most vital areas commercially and in terms of large powers in the world... Northeast Asia is the only place where the direct interests of the United States, China, Japan and Russia intersect. And Korea is kind of the bull's-eye in the middle of that," he said.
