- • Carter intended to follow through on his earlier plan to remove ground
forces from South Korea.^6
Following Rogers’s departure from Korea, there was a meeting at the
USFK Yongsan headquarters to determine the next step. General Vessey was
adamantly opposed to the withdrawal but was obligated to carry out the
president’s wishes if he were so directed. Until he received such orders, how-
ever, he was determined to do everything possible to convince the adminis-
tration to change its policy direction.^7
A number of people in both Seoul and Washington agreed with Vessey.
An informal plan gradually took shape in opposition to troop withdrawal.
The first component was the education of the press. Active-duty military
officers, of course, have to be extremely careful about what they say to the
media, something Maj. Gen. John Singlaub, General Vessey’s chief of staff,
would soon demonstrate. Former officers, however, have considerably more
freedom. General Stilwell, who was recently retired, had excellent access to
the press in Washington and other influential media, such as Foreign Affairs
magazine, the New York Times, and Newsweek, among others. With strong
support from other retired and active officers, he began a writing campaign
in many of these important publications. He also began to lobby members
of Congress and organize opposition to the Carter plan in various veterans’
organizations and other groups. This effort was effective in getting our mes-
sage to a large and influential segment of the American public.
Another component of the opposition plan was to educate and alert
Congress to the dangers. It was particularly important to persuade congress-
men to hold hearings on the troop-withdrawal plan before the Carter White
House was able to make it a fait accompli. Despite the efforts of General Stilwell
and others, though, we had been only partially successful in generating
support in Congress until the early summer of , when we received
unexpected assistance from a very surprising source—the Washington Post.
The Washington Post was an unlikely ally in opposing the Carter plan
because it had consistently supported the president and his policies and was
generally thought to agree with his position on Korea. The Post had been
critical of ROK president Park for many years, particularly of his human
rights record. In May, , in Seoul, Post reporter John Saar interviewed
General Singlaub on the overall topic of troop withdrawal. Singlaub, whom
I saw often in later years, maintained that he was treated unfairly during
the now-famous Washington Post interview that resulted in his removal from
his position at USFK.^8 The general did not dispute the accuracy of what was