The U.S. Asks Korea to Send Polish-Style Division

The United States recently requested the South Korean government to send some 3,000 soldiers and command a division consisting of multinational forces similar to a Polish division that is currently operating in Iraq, a source said yesterday.

“Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless asked to send a division of light infantry soldiers to Iraq that can operate independently during his visit to the Blue House September 4,” a senior government official said yesterday. “He did not specify the number of South Korean troops to be sent, but mentioned a `Polish-style division` currently dispatched in Iraq as an example,” the source said.

“This means not a full-sized division of South Korea, but a downsized one which includes division headquarters, communications and transportation units as well as a brigade,¡° the official said on condition of anonymity.

The official also said “about a dozen countries, including India, Pakistan and Turkey, had been asked by the U.S. to send their troops to Iraq,” suggesting the U.S. wants to make another Polish-style division made up of multinational forces, while having ROK forces as the pivot, so that U.S. forces can hand over their duties in a certain region.

“The new troops are not likely to stay long in Iraq and will likely serve as peace keeping forces rather than as combatants,” he added. “The U.S. is making efforts to establish a constitution for the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) in a very near future to hand over its control. Thus, Korean troops would only need to temporarily stay in Iraq until then.”

“If the South Korea sends its troops, it will have to pay the costs for the dispatch itself since they are not multinational peace keeping force approved by a U.N. resolution,” he added. “The U.S. used the word, `self-sustaining`, and it indicates that the troops should be capable to carry out independent operations and defense.”

Some 3,000 polish soldiers are deployed in Iraq at present and it is estimated that the U.S. has requested about the similar size of forces to South Korea.

Currently, having the Polish troops as the pivot, some 10,000 multinational soldiers of 3 brigades are policing south-central Iraq, including Najaf. One brigade is made up of 3,000 Polish soldiers and two others are made up of multinational forces from some 20 countries, including Spain, the Ukraine, and Hungary. Each of them is a light infantry brigade and does not have tanks and heavy weapons, but is capable of conducting independent operations.

Jeong-Hun Kim Sang-Ho Yun jnghn@donga.com ysh1005@donga.com