Yep. Well, until fall practice starts anyway.
I imagine that when football starts, Tim, Joe, Slef, The Judge and myself will once again unite in harmony and discuss things of utmost importance. Is it too early to start the QB controversy or the new\old logo poll? -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Steven Johnson Sent: Monday, May 17, 2004 10:31 AM To: RollTideFan-The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List Subject: Re: [RollTideFan] Out of the frying pan...... Has this become a political board? RTR LC --- Joel Perry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Strapped for troops, the Pentagon wants to redeploy > U.S. troops in South > Korea to Iraq > By Robert Burns, Associated Press, 5/17/2004 01:22 > WASHINGTON (AP) In a sign of the Iraq war's > increasing strain on the U.S. > Army, the Pentagon is considering an extraordinary > shift of troops to Iraq > from their garrisons in South Korea, where they have > stood guard for decades > against a feared invasion by forces of communist > North Korea, official say. > The move reflects not only the Army's difficulty in > finding enough soldiers > for the next rotation of forces into Iraq later this > year but also Defense > Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's push for greater > flexibility in deploying > troops based anywhere in the world, including the > Korean peninsula. > The U.S. commitment to defending South Korea is the > most enduring of its > kind, after the collapse of the former Soviet Union > and the Warsaw Pact that > threatened Europe until it dissolved in 1991. U.S. > forces saved South Korea > after the North invaded without warning in June > 1950. > South Korean officials offered the first word Sunday > that the United States > wanted to move some of the 37,000 U.S. troops > stationed there to Iraq, and > Pentagon officials confirmed that talks were under > way. > The issue is politically sensitive because of the > concern about a potential > North Korean attack across the Demilitarized Zone > that has separated the > North and South since the Korean War ended in a > truce in July 1953. U.S. and > South Korean forces remain on a war footing because > the truce has never been > converted to a peace treaty, and the two Koreas are > technically still at > war. > ''The U.S. government has told us that it needs to > select some U.S. troops > in South Korea and send them to Iraq to cope with > the worsening situation in > Iraq,'' said Kim Sook, head of the South Korean > Foreign Ministry's North > American Bureau. > Tapping into the U.S. force on the Korean peninsula, > the Cold War's last > remaining flash point, would be a historic move by > the Pentagon. It > underscores the degree to which the military is > stretched to provide enough > forces for Iraq while also meeting its other > commitments. > The Pentagon had planned to reduce the number of > troops in Iraq to about > 115,000 this spring, but an increasingly bloody > insurgency forced a change > in plans. The Pentagon announced this month that it > now plans to keep about > 135,000 troops in Iraq for at least the next year > and a half. > Kim said the two allies are working out details, > including the size and > timing of the redeployment of U.S. troops from South > Korea. The forces have > traditionally served as a deterrent against North > Korea's 1.1-million-member > military, which is the world's fifth largest > although severely hampered in > its equipping and training by the communist nation's > chronic economic > problems. > In Washington, a senior defense official confirmed > that the Pentagon is in > discussions with the South Korean government about > using some Korea-based > U.S. forces in Iraq. The official, who spoke on > condition of anonymity, said > the shift was not imminent but would be part of the > next rotation of > American troops in Iraq, which is scheduled to begin > this summer. He offered > no other details. > South Korea's mass-circulation JoongAng Ilbo > newspaper, quoting unnamed > government sources, reported that a brigade of 4,000 > U.S. troops belonging > to the 2nd Infantry Division will move to Iraq > ''within several weeks.'' > The division, based at Camp Red Cloud, is deployed > along the tense border > with North Korea, the world's most heavily armed. It > has a formidable array > of combat power, including two combat maneuver > brigades, an aviation > brigade, a combat engineer brigade, an air defense > artillery regiment and a > military police company. It has been stationed in > South Korea since 1965. > The division's 3rd Brigade, known as the Arrowhead > Brigade, is based at Fort > Lewis, Wash., as a reserve force for Korea. That > brigade, which was the > first in the Army to transition from tanks to the > new Stryker wheeled > vehicle, has been operating in northern Iraq since > late last fall. > Kim, the South Korean official, said it was too > early to speculate on > whether the troops will return to South Korea after > their Iraq mission. The > Bush administration wants to reduce the number of > troops stationed > permanently in South Korea, but no decisions have > been made. > South Korea has feared that a cut in U.S. military > presence might weaken the > two allies' combined defense readiness against North > Korea amid tension over > the communist state's nuclear weapons program. > At the administration's urging, South Korea has > agreed to send more than > 3,000 of its troops to Iraq to help stabilize and > rebuild the country. They > are expected to arrive this summer. > ( I bet those 3,000 South Korean troops are excited > about going to Iraq.) > > > ______________________________________________________ > RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics > Discussion List > > "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" > > To join or leave the list or to make changes to your > subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! - Internet access at a great low price. http://promo.yahoo.com/sbc/ ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" To join or leave the list or to make changes to your subscription visit http://listinfo.rolltidefan.net ______________________________________________________ RollTideFan - The University of Alabama Athletics Discussion List "Welcome to RollTideFan! Wear a cup!" 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