The Singlaub Affair: Major General John K. Singlaub and the Carter Administration - Showdown on Drawdown

President Jimmy Carter entered the White House with a number of campaign pledges, one of which was to return all U.S. ground forces from Korea over a four to five year period. Korea also formed one of the Carter Administrations first tests of a human-rights based foreign policy, for the Park regime was notorious for its repressive rule. Major General Singlaub, then Chief of Staff of U.S. Forces, Korea, disagreed with the conclusion of the administration that forces could be withdrawn without the risk of war and was so quoted in the press just days before actual drawdown negotiations began. A train of events ensued which saw both the ultimate failure of President Carter to achieve a troop withdrawal or to influence the internal policies of the Park regime, and the dismissal of Maj. Gen. Singlaub from his position as Chief of Staff. A description of the events leading to Singlaubs dismissal and eventual retirement are presented, and the rationale for his action is analyzed. The Singlaub Affair demonstrate the difficulty of distinguishing ethical or moral positions established at personal risk - where individual choose to shape the course of events through deliberate action - and those instances where events take their own course and individuals are swept along by - in the final analysis - personal flaws.