Religious leaders offer noncombat force plan

Three of the nation’s top religious leaders yesterday proposed to President Roh Moo-hyun that he adopt a “compromise” plan on the U.S. request that South Korea send combat troops to Iraq, dispatching noncombat forces only as part of a UN multinational force under a United Nations mandate.
The three were Cardinal Stephen Sou-hwan Kim, the country’s highest-ranking Catholic clergyman; Reverend Kang Won-yong, a prominent Protestant leader; and Reverend Song Wol-ju, a leader of the Jogye Order, the largest of Korea’s Buddhist orders. They made the proposal during a 90-minute luncheon with Mr. Roh at the Blue House, at which they also discussed a wide range of other issues with the president.
“Weapons of mass destruction have not been found in Iraq, and there is no evidence linking the terrorist organization Al Qaeda to the ousted Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein,” Mr. Kang said. “I opposed sending South Korean troops to the Vietnam War; the case for the additional dispatch of Korean troops to Iraq is weaker.”
He acknowledged that Seoul would find it hard to refuse the U.S. request, so it would be desirable to send noncombat troops under UN auspices.
“Nothing has been decided yet, and we will give the issue careful and prudent study,” Mr. Roh said.

by Choi Hoon