Reuters

Bush envisions U.S. presence in Iraq like S.Korea

Wed May 30, 2007 2:54PM EDT



By Steve Holland



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush would like to see a  
lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea to  
provide stability but not in a frontline combat role, the White House  
said on Wednesday.

The United States has had thousands of U.S. troops in South Korea to  
guard against a North Korean invasion for 50 years.

Democrats in control of the U.S. Congress have been pressing Bush to  
agree to a timetable for pulling troops from Iraq, an idea firmly  
opposed by the president.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush would like to see a U.S.  
role in Iraq ultimately similar to that in South Korea in which "you  
get to a point in the future where you want it to be a purely support  
model."

"The Korean model is one in which the United States provides a  
security presence, but you've had the development of a successful  
democracy in South Korea over a period of years, and, therefore, the  
United States is there as a force of stability," Snow told reporters.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said in a statement he  
believes it is time for Bush to "recognize the reality on the ground  
in Iraq," that U.S. troops are mired in an Iraqi civil war and a  
change in course is urgently needed.

"Democrats know that Americans demand realistic plans, not more White  
House rhetoric, rosy predictions and best-case scenarios. Our troops  
and the American people deserve better," Reid said.

Iraq's neighbors have raised concerns about the possibility of the  
United States maintaining permanent bases in Iraq, and some U.S.  
lawmakers have said they think the Iraqi insurgency may have been  
fueled by perceptions the United States wants a permanent presence in  
the country.

Washington has consistently denied wanting permanent bases in Iraq.

Snow said U.S. bases in Iraq would not necessarily be permanent  
because they would be there at the invitation of the host government  
and "the person who has done the invitation has the right to withdraw  
the invitation."

"I think the point he's (Bush) trying to make is that the situation  
in Iraq, and indeed, the larger war on terror, are things that are  
going to take a long time. But it is not always going to require an  
up-front combat presence," Snow said.

"The president has always said that ultimately you want to be handing  
primary responsibility off to the Iraqis," he said.

"You provide the so-called over-the-horizon support that is necessary  
from time to time to come to the assistance of Iraqis but you do not  
want the United States forever in the front."

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