Blitzkrieg or Sitzkrieg? Assessing a second Korean War
Titel:
Blitzkrieg or Sitzkrieg? Assessing a second Korean War
Auteur:
Suh, J. -J.
Verschenen in:
Global change peace and security
Paginering:
Jaargang 11 (1999) nr. 2 pagina's 151-176
Jaar:
1999-06
Inhoud:
Static and dynamic measures, developed for conventional force balance assessment in Central Europe during the Cold War, are applied to the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Many of the Cold War analytical techniques in the context of the post-Cold War situation, are applied to one of the two major regional theaters that the US military is prepared to fight in. On the issue of North-South Korea force balance, pessimist observers, including ROK and US military officials, have argued that the Combined Forces Command of ROK and US does not have adequate military capability to quickly defeat a North Korean attack while optimists, an odd amalgam of liberals and conservatives, have suggested otherwise. All the methodological measures employed here refute the pessimist view. The conclusion is that the Republic of Korea has the military capability to stop a North Korean blitzkrieg without American ground or air support and without losing much ground. Thus it is not imprudent to start designing Korea's new security framework, in which a US military withdrawal is a major component. In terms of international relations theory, this conclusion calls for a more theoretical inquiry into the cause of 'alliance persistence', an intellectual effort that needs to go beyond the realist paradigm.
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