Korean TV series: King of Peninsula 1997

Chapter 475: Reaching out to the Marine Corps

After nearly four months of trouble, South Korea's decision to send troops to Iraq has finally been settled.

The plenary session of the South Korean National Assembly passed a resolution to send troops to Iraq with an overwhelming majority, finally putting an end to this controversial issue.

The passage of the bill removed the last obstacle for South Korea to send troops to Iraq, and a group of South Korean troops flying the Taegeukgi will be added to the multinational force stationed in Iraq.

This was not only fueled by Li You, but also driven by Jin Jianying of Tianxia Group and Zhu Mengyong of Daying Group. Because Iraq's oil is now in the hands of the United States, Jin Jianying needs their cooperation to continue to transport oil back from Iraq and maintain his position as the energy hegemon on the Korean Peninsula.

In fact, as early as the end of April, after the military operations in the Iraq War ended, the first batch of troops had already responded to the request of the United States.

A construction and medical force of nearly 700 people was sent to the lower reaches of the Euphrates River.

At that moment, the Korean Peninsula was in an uproar.

There are voices of support, but there are also voices of opposition.

However, the troops sent were logistical troops after all, and there was also the excuse of helping the Iraqi people with construction and medical services, so the fierce debate did not stop them from making the decision to send troops.

Li Lianchang and Li You sat in the presidential office in the Blue House, their faces wrinkled tightly. "I thought we had made our 'contribution' to the end!"

He sighed, "I never thought that even though the war was over, the United States would consider the difficult security situation in Iraq and further ask us to send combat troops there."

"That's a combat unit," Li Lianchang sighed. "The relationship between the North and Iraq was originally very good. When I first took office, I tested missiles. Now..."

He shook his head, feeling a little shaky. Due to the alliance between the two countries, he should send troops, but due to public opinion at home and pressure from the north, he did not dare to make a hasty decision.

"The security situation over there is indeed very poor," Li You shook his head. "Although it was won much faster than in Afghanistan, the constant attacks are giving the Iraqi interim government and US top brass a lot of headaches."

He chuckled, "My people in Kinmen, the United States, have a security team going to Iraq to protect the Prime Minister of the interim government."

Li Lianchang was a little surprised, but he didn't express it. "In fact, we have been working towards sending troops to Iraq from the beginning, but now the anti-war sentiment cannot be ignored."

"Ever since the news came out that they were asking us to send combat troops to Iraq, opposition from all walks of life on the Korean Peninsula has never stopped."

"Why not change the name through negotiation with them?" Li You smiled. "Anyway, they just need your soldiers, not necessarily the words 'combat troops'."

Li Lianchang suddenly realized and a smile appeared on his face.

At Li You's suggestion, Li Lianchang led the negotiations in the following days, trying to turn the "combat force" to be sent to Iraq into a "mixed force", declaring that it included construction teams, medical forces, and psychological forces, with only a small part being combatants. Under the banner of "participating in the restoration of peace and reconstruction in Iraq", the decision to send troops to Iraq was made, and at the same time, the obstacles set up by opposition forces in the political circles and Congress against sending troops were cleared.

However, Li Lianchang, who made the decision, always felt that he was too dependent on Li You, relying on a young man who was not yet thirty years old for such a matter.
So Li Lianchang sat in the Blue House and issued instructions and conducted a public opinion survey.

As the UN Security Council recently passed a resolution on the reconstruction of Iraq, South Korea's decision to send troops to Iraq is linked to the UN Security Council resolution, further alleviating the domestic public pressure against sending troops.

With the approval of the United Nations, South Korea's support for sending troops to Iraq rose from 37 percent to 60 percent, which is already a satisfactory number.

However, even so, Li Lianchang did not act rashly. Instead, in response to the concerns of the Korean people about the security situation in Iraq, he sent three investigation teams to Iraq to collect evidence that the troops could be safe in Iraq, which gave public opinion complete reassurance.

In addition, Li You began to exert his strength at the same time, and then he began to send mixed forces to Iraq one after another.

After the two men contacted each other over the phone, Li You listened quietly to Li Lianchang talking about the situation in the troops.

"A total of 3,000 people," Li Lianchang said with emotion, "I am not used to such a large operation in my first year in office."

"Even the entire Korean Peninsula has not had such a large-scale military operation overseas for a long time."

"But half of them are medical and construction personnel, with only 707 combat personnel," he said helplessly. "President Li, do you still remember the defense minister's plan?" "Mobilize the th Brigade stationed in Afghanistan to Iraq? And then send the Marines to Afghanistan?"

"That's what I originally thought," Li Lianchang shook his head, "because the 707 is more suitable for street fighting and counter-terrorism in Iraq, but considering the terrain and public opinion in Iraq, we can only draw personnel from the Marine Corps to send to Iraq."

The main mission of the 707th Brigade is anti-terrorism. Even the people of the Korean Peninsula know that the banner of their troops this time is reconstruction and peace, which is not appropriate.
"And we can't mobilize more than that. We have drawn 500 battalion-level members and 100 squadron-level members from the Marine Corps."

In the Korean Peninsula, independent squadrons are generally special squadrons.

But even so, Li Lianchang still felt unsafe.

The people were fooled, but they were not fooled. Everyone knows how chaotic the situation is in Iraq.

Li You chuckled, "Do you need support?"

"Support?" Li Lianchang was stunned.

"The U.S. Kinmen can draw at least 500 battlefield contract workers from Suriname," Li You twisted his neck, "and can be sent to Iraq to help our Republic of Korea troops."

Li Lianchang hesitated for a moment. It would be great if he could get it for free, but Li You...
"What does President Li want?"

"What do I want?" Li You's eyes flickered, and a smile appeared on his face. "I feel that the previous cooperative relationship is still a little weak."

He added: “I’m talking about the cooperation between Kinmen security and the military.”

"." Li Lianchang was a little confused, "What President Li means is..."

"The Iraq War is destined to be brutal, and it seems to be a tug-of-war," Li You smiled. "Many members sent to Iraq will have to be rotated."

"What I want to say is"

"Many members deployed to Iraq have endured tough times. How about allowing them to retire early?"

"Chairman Li!" Li Lianchang's face became a little serious. He frowned and understood what Li You meant. This meant that he wanted to recruit people from the soldiers who were rotated back, and he said it so openly.

What's more, Li You himself was from the Marine Corps, and there were even posters of Li You in the Marine Corps.
Li Lianchang knew exactly what he was planning, but he couldn't do it because this was the fundamental problem.

"The Republic of Korea has no shortage of soldiers," Li You narrowed his eyes, "You should always think about these suffering soldiers."

"How about this," Li You also put away his smile, "allow us to sign labor contracts with some soldiers in advance, and when they retire, they can come directly to work for us."

"We can pay their families a salary in advance."

Li Lianchang hesitated for a moment and felt that he could not continue to humiliate Li You.

He hesitated for a moment and said, "This matter is of great importance. I still need to discuss it."

"Okay," Li You nodded, "President Nim?"

"Hmm?" Li Lianchang raised his head.

Li You smiled at him. The sunlight outside the window was particularly dazzling, causing Li Lianchang, who was sitting behind his desk, to push up his glasses and unable to see Li You's face clearly.

“Remember our friendship.”

(End of this chapter)