Prioritize Jobs and Services at Home
At a time when state and local governments are cutting essential social services, the United States is spending desperately needed public dollars on dangerous and costly military exercises in Korea. We, the undersigned, demand the U.S. government immediately stop the provocative and dangerous “Key Resolve Foal Eagle” military exercises and take concrete steps to end the 60-year war on the Korean peninsula through peaceful dialogue.
For eight weeks, from February 28 to April 30, 2011, the U.S. and South Korea Combined Forces Command is conducting joint military exercises called “Key Resolve-Foal Eagle.” These war games, involving 13,000 US troops and a nuclear aircraft carrier, are intended to simulate an attack on North Korea’s nuclear weapons facilities and intervention plans in the case of instability in North Korea.
In contrast to demands made by the Korean people for peace and engagement, “Key Resolve-Foal Eagle” exercises exacerbate an already tense situation on the Korean peninsula. The U.S. government alleges that these exercises are routine and defensive in nature, but it is clear that the aim of these exercises is to simulate the annihilation of the North Korean military, regime change, and occupation of North Korea. The exercises simulate a massive landing by more than 200,000 South Korean and US troops to occupy Pyongyang and the mobilization of offensive Stryker brigades.
Since the military crisis last November over Yeonpyeong Island, the countries involved in the Six Party talks have been making progress to return to peace talks for the stability and security of Northeast Asia. By forging ahead with these massive simulation war games, the United States and South Korea only further worsen tensions on the Korean peninsula and sabotage prospects for peaceful dialogue.
We call on the Obama administration to cancel the destructive Key Resolve Foal Eagle war games and instead begin the process of finally ending the 60-year war on the Korean peninsula by signing a Peace Treaty with North Korea. We are in the midst of an economic crisis. We can no longer afford to waste millions of dollars on war games that threaten peace and the sovereignty of another nation. The United States is demanding that North Korea demonstrate “sincerity” for returning to talks, which it has by putting forward many viable options for denuclearization. Now the United States must respond by halting the provocative Key Resolve Foal Eagle exercises and return to peaceful negotiations.
Signed,
National Campaign to End the Korean War
(National Association of Korean Americans, National Committee for Peace in Korea, National Lawyers Guild Korea Peace Project, Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, Veterans for Peace Korea Peace Campaign)
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