America’s founders were extremely worried that the Republic might become entangled in quarrels that were, or should be, irrelevant to America’s own security and well-being. Several prominent founders, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, emphasized that danger. Today’s proponents of a new foreign policy based on realism and restraint highlight similar concerns.
That worry is entirely legitimate. Since World War II, U.S. leaders have meddled in quarrels around the world, snaring the United States in destructive conflicts that usually are irrelevant to America’s own legitimate interests. America has experienced great loss of life from the Korean War in the early 1950s to multiple wars in the Muslim world since 1990 – and those episodes are just the ones that have entailed direct U.S. combat roles. U.S. policy makers have not only been guilty of entangling their own country in unnecessary conflicts, but also such officials have often gone out of their way to put small allies needlessly at risk.
Washington’s use of Ukraine in a proxy war between NATO and Russia is a prime example of that strategy and its consequences. From the earliest months of the full-scale armed conflict that erupted in February 2022 and continues to the present, the United States and its NATO allies have pressured South Korea to open its stockpiles of artillery and artillery shells for Kyiv’s use in its conflict against Russia. U. S. officials have pressed the government of South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol to supply Ukraine with a variety of weapons. That reckless strategy risks creating dangerous tensions between South Korea and nuclear-armed Russia, even though Seoul has no significant interests at stake in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
President Joe Biden’s strategy has already backfired in multiple ways. Tensions between the United States and South Korea regarding Ukraine have increased because of the arms transfer issue. The topic has also created nasty political divisions within South Korea. Supporters of South Korea’s opposition party seem especially negative toward Washington’s effort to enlist their country in the U.S. military support of Ukraine.
Matters have become more perilous in other respects as well. Security ties between Russia and North Korea have visibly increased. Between September 2023 and June 2024, North Korea had already sent 11,000 containers of munitions to Russia. In June 2024, the two countries also signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty. Pyongyang is now providing Moscow with an abundance of ammunition, neutralizing one of the weaknesses that had emerged in Russia’s military.
Matters could get even worse for Seoul. One of Pyongyang’s key objectives has been to get Moscow’s assistance to advance North Korea’s nuclear-weapons programs. Providing the beleaguered Russian army with ammunition in exchange for such assistance would seem to be a beneficial agreement for both sides. New York Times analyst, David Sanger, warns “Mr. Putin did far more than drop any semblance of a desire to ensure nuclear restraint. He promised unspecified technological help that – if it includes the few critical technologies Mr. Kim has sought to perfect – could help the North design a warhead that could survive re-entry into the atmosphere and threaten its many adversaries, starting with the United States.” Specifically, it would also increase the risk to America’s South Korean ally. To needlessly endanger South Korea’s security on behalf of Ukraine is irresponsible.
South Korea has long been among America’s most cooperative security partners. During the Vietnam War, Seoul provided one of the largest contingents of allied combat forces. South Korea also made military contributions to the U.S. occupation mission in Afghanistan. But it is well past time for South Korean leaders to concede that Washington’s protection in Seoul’s ongoing confrontation with North Korea comes at a disturbing, and rising, cost. The Biden administration’s handling of this issue has been truly dreadful. U.S. leaders have put its South Korean ally at risk because of a murky conflict in Eastern Europe. No South Korean leader should be asked – much less pressured – to make such a commitment.
Just as the American Republic can become needlessly entangled in foreign quarrels, Washington’s dependents and allies can become entangled in dubious U.S.-generated military adventures that do not benefit their interests. It’s time to stop.
Reprinted with permission from Antiwar.com.
