[Opinion] Linebacker

American football, one of the most favorite American sports, is a game of strategies. In the first glance, it looks like a simple and wild game, in which big guys clash and mess with each other. But at those very short moments, there are a number of strategies going on behind the scene. A quarterback is at the center of the team play. The rest 10 players make unified moves under the directions of the quarterback. There is also a position called a linebacker. The linebacker is an American football version of libero who crisscrosses the ground taking the defensive often times and moving forward at other times.

U.S. troops stationed in Korea have begun to use the word `linebacker`. A public relations officer from the Second Division purportedly slipped the remarks to the press that “The Second Division must play a role of a linebacker not a tripwire.” Washington has so far disapproved the idea of `tripwire`, which reasons that the division should be in the fire range of North Korean forces for the U.S. to get involved in the war. In this regard, the linebacker must be a new concept that goes beyond the bind of the tripwire.

The public relations officer must have not mentioned the term inadvertently. Washington announced about a week ago that it would invest $11 billion won to reinforce its forces in Korea. It is said that talks on redeployment of troops, which are underway at full speeds, reflect the Bush administration`s new strategy aimed at downsizing forces while mobilizing them more promptly. The plan to send the so-called Stryker Brigade Combat Team, known to be fully equipped with high-tech weapons, seems in line with the strategy. Compared to boxing, the U.S. is now seeking to change itself from an infighter who stays in short distance of its opponent, to an out boxer who circles around afar for a chance to strike.

Responding to this new strategy, neighboring countries are raising concern. Not to mention North Korea, China said two days ago that the redeployment of U.S. troops could complicate the issues involving the Korean Peninsula. It might serve well national security, but also could cause instability in the peninsular at the same time. What is also worrisome is whether our voice of concern is ever reflected throughout the process. Just as American football is a game of teamwork, a success of military operations in the peninsula hinges on the teamwork between the two countries.

Song Moon-hong, Editorial Writer, songmh@donga.com