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The Zaytun division.
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A majority of Uri Party members want to see S.K. troops brought home
An overwhelming majority of members of the ruling Uri Party are demanding the government give them specific plans for withdrawing Korean troops from Iraq. Their decision to confront the government comes at a time when Seoul has already announced it will seek to have the timetable for withdrawal extended into next year after downsizing the number of troops it maintains in Iraq. President Roh Moo-hyun could find obtaining National Assembly approval for a longer stint in Iraq difficult unless his proposal contains a specific timetable for withdrawal. Im Jong-seok, Uri member of the Committee on Unification, Foreign Affairs, and Trade, said Sunday that 90 of his fellow party members had signed a proposal that would make it official party policy to demand the Blue House make plans for withdrawing from Iraq. "That’s two thirds of the 139 seats we have in the Assembly," he noted. The proposal, first circulated by Im on November 13, says it was "under the premise that Korean troops could come home when an Iraqi government was installed," and that the party approved the troop dispatch "out of consideration for the U.S.-Korea alliance, enduring the danger of sending troops." The proposal claims there is "no reason to keep our troops in Iraq" when "even the U.S. is talking about leaving."Ruling party members are not demanding an immediate withdrawal, but instead are refusing to approve of more time for troops in Iraq unless a bill to extend deployment has a specific date for eventual withdrawal. A considerable number of "centrist" Uri Assemblymen have signed the document. "We cannot have troops in Iraq any longer when there is no justification for the Iraq war," said Lee Mi-kyung. "The situation has changed there, and now so has the mood in the party." A party official who requested anonymity said he would not vote in favor of an extension, even if the government reduces the number of troops it has there. It has been reported that Korea informed the U.S. of its intention to reduce the number of Korean troops in Iraq from 2,330 to 1,500 and to keep them stationed there when President Roh met with U.S. president George W. Bush at the APEC summit in Hanoi on November 18. Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]
