Afghanistan stays could be shortened

The Defense Ministry is considering reversing the government’s plan to extend the tour for troops dispatched to Afghanistan from the original one year to two and a half years, said sources with National Assembly.

Reporting to the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly in a closed-door meeting last Friday, the ministry said, “We will submit a 340 troop dispatch plan to the National Assembly around Friday.”

The dispatch period will be from July next year till December 2012, it said. On Oct. 30, the Korean government announced it would send troops to protect civilian professionals working on rebuilding projects in the war-torn Central Asian country.

However, opposition lawmakers and even some ruling Grand National Party members asked the ministry to review the period, claiming it is too long. Thus far, military deployment has been made on a yearly basis and the period has been extended with approval from the National Assembly.

“It’s not appropriate for Korean troops to stay in Afghanistan when U.S. President Barack Obama announced plans to begin withdrawing the U.S. army beginning in July 2011,” according to multiple sources who attended the meeting. Defense ministry officials answered that they “will review” the lawmakers’ proposal.

Separately, one source said some of the attendants said that UH-60 Black Hawks are feared to be vulnerable to surface-to-air missile attacks. The ministry said troops “should move in the helicopters due to the danger of improvised explosive devices.”

By Kang Joo-an, Seo Ji-eun [spring@joongang.co.kr]