Rumsfeld's curse.

(From The Korea Herald)

Since Washington announced its plan to cut a third of the 37,000 U.S. troops in Korea by the end of next year, heated debates have continued across the nation's liberal-conservative ideological divide on the true motivation behind the withdrawal. The conservative school determines that the partial USFK exit is Washington's natural reaction to rising anti-Americanism in Korea. They cite the dictum that "America will keep its troops only in places where they are welcome," attributed to a top U.S. administration official. Liberals, on the other hand, emphasize that the withdrawal has been considered in conjunction with the so-called "global defense posture review" of all U.S. forces overseas, and that it has little to do with local public sentiments. A purported episode involving U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and indicating how Washington was prompted to make the partial troop withdrawal decision has fueled a new round of criticism against the liberals and the government's line that there is no relevance between the U.S. withdrawal plans and anti-American outbursts here. The story goes that Rumsfeld shouted, "God damn it... get them out," when he saw NBC TV footage last Dec. 30 of a U.S. Army military policeman bleeding in front of a gate of the Yongsan Garrison where a rock-throwing demonstration was underway. The daily Chosun Ilbo first reported that professor Moon Chung-in, currently heading a presidential committee on promoting Korea as a Northeast Asian hub, told the story as a guest speaker at a businessmen's breakfast meeting. The political scientist, who has advised the administration on security affairs, was quoted as saying that "such a minor mistake on our part expedited the troop ...