Why Korea must send troops to Iraq.

(From The Korea Herald)

President Roh Moo-hyun must have been surprised when his decision to dispatch Korea's non-combat troops to Iraq faced such strong and vocal opposition from the Korean public. Normally, issues of foreign affairs rarely capture the emotions of the Korean public. In fact, the dispatch of Korea's non-combat troops to East Timor a few years ago as part of the U.N. peacekeeping force completely missed capturing the Korean public's interest and attention. Moreover, when several PKO troops were accidentally killed in East Timor and their bodies returned to Korea, the public's sorrow for their soldiers was underwhelming.

Given such history, President Roh must have not expected such vocal …