SecDef addresses military at Osan

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. A.J. Bosker
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFPN) --  Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld spoke with nearly 1,000 airmen, soldiers, sailors, Marines and family members here Nov. 18 during a town hall meeting.

“It’s a real privilege for me to be with those who are doing so much to keep the peace in such an important part of the world,” Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld acknowledged the pledge servicemembers made when they raised their hands and dedicated their life to serving their country.

“You’ve made many sacrifices,” he said. “Your families also have sacrificed in many ways, and we appreciate them as well. They, too, deserve our thanks and our gratitude.

“But when you live and work on the border between freedom and slavery, between democracy and communism, between prosperity and poverty, I’m sure you have a very clear sense of your mission,” Rumsfeld said.

The summer of 2003 marked the 50th anniversary of the end of hostilities between North Korea and the U.N. forces defending the South, he said.

Although the war was not easy, the enemy did not collapse within days, and the Korean peninsula remains divided, Rumsfeld said. Some people tend to think of the war as having been a draw, he said.

Rumsfeld said he disagrees.

“There were very clear winners and losers,” he said. “(South Korea) emerged into the light and went on to develop institutions of freedom while (North Korea) has dwelled in poverty and darkness for five decades.”

The success of South Korea did not happen by accident, and it did not happen overnight, Rumsfeld said.

“It happened because the United States made a commitment to security and has kept that commitment for 50 years, and because men and women in uniform were stationed in places like Osan to guarantee the peace,” he said. “Because of this, (South Korea) has transformed itself from a small war-torn nation into a nation of people who are free and prosperous, who have a vibrant democracy and who are engaged constructively in the world. It is an enormous success story.”

Rumsfeld recounted a recent interview he gave in Seoul during which the reporter asked him, “Why should the Korean people send their young men and women over to Iraq, halfway across the globe?”

“It was a fair question,” Rumsfeld said. “I responded by saying, ‘I suppose for the exact same reason that the American people sent their young men and women over to Korea 50 years ago.’”

That decision, made 50 years ago, was not easy but was worth it, he said. Just as the decision to send troops to Iraq was not easy but was the right thing to do.

At the end of the day, when democracy has taken root in Iraq and the country becomes a constructive player in the Middle East, the rightness of American efforts there will be as clear as well, he said.

“Americans will be safer if Iraq is part of an axis of peace, instead of an axis of evil,” Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld then told the audience they are all part of something that the world has rarely seen in history.

“(You’re part) of the mighty armed forces of a truly great nation which uses those armed forces to help people, not to plunder, not to pillage, not to conquer and destroy but to assist them in building a free and prosperous nation,” he said.

“The American people (and I) value you and appreciate your service,” Rumsfeld said. “Your country is grateful and proud of each of you.”