View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ASU Digital Repository The Reliable Promise of Middle Power Fighters: The ROK Military’s COIN Success in Vietnam and Iraq by Kil-Joo Ban A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved June 2011 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Sheldon Simon, Chair Yoav Gortzak Stephen Mackinnon ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY August 2011 ABSTRACT Counterinsurgency (COIN) is a long process that even great powers struggle with. Nevertheless, South Korea as a middle power was successful with COINs in Vietnam and Iraq. What were the drivers for the Republic of Korea (ROK) military's success? This dissertation maintains that the unusual nature of missions coupled with political/socio-cultural advantages are sufficient conditions for success of the middle power COIN. COIN missions are seen as unusual to middle powers. A rare mission stimulates military forces to fight harder because they recognize this mission as an opportunity to increase their national prestige. COIN mission success is also more probable for middle powers because their forces make the best of their country's political/socio-cultural advantages. The ROK military's COINs are optimal cases to test these hypotheses. The ROK military's COIN in Vietnam was an extremely rare mission, which increased its enthusiasm. This enthusiasm was converted into appropriate capabilities. By identifying battleground dynamics, the ROK forces initially chose an enemy- oriented approach based upon the method of company-led tactical base, and then later introduced a population-led method. South Korea's political/socio-cultural advantages also contributed to its military success in Vietnam. The Confucius culture that South Koreans and Vietnamese shared allowed the ROK forces to win the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese population. The mission in Iraq was also a rare and important one for national prestige. Accordingly, South Korean forces were equipped with pride and were enthusiastic about missions in Arbil. They changed their organization from a rigid i one to a more flexible one by strengthening civil-military units. The ROK military possessed the ability to choose a population-centric approach. South Korea's political and cultural climate also served as an advantage to accomplish COIN in Iraq. The culture of Jung allowed ROK soldiers to sincerely help the local Iraqis. This project contributes to developing a theory of the middle power COIN. The findings also generate security policy implications of how to deal with contingent situations led by the collapse of the North Korean regime and how to redefine the ROK military strategy for the future. ii DEDICATION To my family (Soomi, Hyuntae, and Jihee), military, and country for everlasting encouragement and inspiration This dissertation is especially dedicated to South Korean warriors who fought for freedom. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Tempe, Arizona is a city located in a wild desert where you have to cross the entire Pacific Ocean, and then change a flight to get there from my mother country. When I came here to Arizona State University in 2007, I felt like I was in the middle of a desert, mentally as well as physically, because of my lack of academic knowledge. However, my mission towards a Ph.D degree materialized as time went by and was finally achieved under the everlasting support of a variety group of people. To begin with, I am extremely grateful to the faculty members who guided me towards becoming a scholar. I owe a big debt of academic appreciation to my committee chair, Prof. Sheldon Simon, who showed me his sincere efforts towards my mission completion. Without his guidance, I would have been at a loss in the middle of the desert. Without a doubt, Prof. Yoav Gortzak was also an admirable mentor. He was more than willing to give me constructive comments despite his busy schedule. In particular, his class about counterinsurgency served as the fundamental guidance for my dissertation. Likewise, Prof. Stephen Mackinnon deserves recognition because he helped me accumulate comprehensive knowledge about war and revolution, and showed me how to conduct an academic investigation. He always greeted me with sincerity when I stopped by his office to take advice from him, and I always felt comfortable in his presence. Second, I owe a special thanks to an elder and senior military officer and academic mentor in South Korea. I express my gratitude to the Republic of Korea iv Army (ROKA) General (Retired) Myung-Shin Chae who inspired me to investigate this dissertation research. I still cannot forget his patriotic spirit which served as my role model for a military officer. The ROKA Major Woo-sik Lee also encouraged me to pay close attention to my research question. Additionally, Prof. Young-ho Kim, who was my mentor at the Korea National Defense University, continued to cheer me on to complete the Ph.D program. He showed me that once a mentor forever a mentor. Third, I want to express my sincere appreciation to my country, the Republic of Korea (ROK) Military, and the ROK Navy. They offered me the precious opportunity to study here in the United States and increase my knowledge of the world. In particular, two navy senior officers directly helped me accomplish this long journey. Lieutenant Commander Kang-kun Lee, who serves in the ROK Navy headquarters, actively supported my academic study and encouraged me to continue my journey. Similarly, a naval attaché at Washington D.C., Captain Hoyje Kim, gave me the enthusiasm to complete my study. In addition to these two officers, I owe a big debt of gratitude to the ROK army Major SangBeom Yoo, Dr. Soon-kook Hong (the ROK navy Lieutenant Commander), the ROK navy Commander Hang-dong Lee, Lieutenant Commander Hae-yeol Lee, and Lieutenant Commander Tae-sik Kim. I also wish to express my gratitude to Lieutenant Commander Soonkun Oh and Hackyoung Bae who also study in the U.S. Fourth, my study would not have been feasible without the help of friends in Arizona. Fred Blohm and Jared Blitz gave me a lot of helpful advice v when I struggled with my study. Dr. Paul Steinbart and his wife Linda Steinbart actively supported me and my family during my stay in this new environment. These friendships helped me complete my study here in Arizona by giving me motivation and inspiration. I am also grateful to my comrades at the School of Politics and Global Studies: Mily Kao, Alex Arifianto, Timothy Stalker, and Clifford Koehler. Lastly but most importantly, I owe the biggest debt of gratitude to my family. My parents in South Korea, Sang-sub Ban and Hong-soon Kim, serve as mentors to my life. I wish to express a special thanks to my wife, Soomi Sung. She is more than willing to listen to me when I find it hard to answer puzzles in life as well as at school. She has stayed with me in this hard and long journey. I also wish to express my appreciation to my son, Hyuntae, and daughter, Jihee, who made me smile during this adventure. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... xiv LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................. xvi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................. xvii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 The Korean Peninsula and the ROK Military Doctrine .................... 1 The ROK Military‟s Performance in Vietnam and Iraq .................... 3 Research Question and Its Significance ............................................. 4 Drivers for Mission Successes of the ROK Military ......................... 7 Plan of the Dissertation ....................................................................... 9 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK ... 14 Literature Review of Counterinsurgency ......................................... 14 Conventional Warfare vs. Counterinsurgency ............................. 14 The Extant COIN Literature: Four Actors of COIN ................... 20 Pitfalls of the Current COIN Literature ....................................... 26 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................... 28 COIN Process and Adaptation Costs ........................................... 28 The Logic of Success for the ROK COIN ................................... 29 Assumptions and Hypotheses....................................................... 37 Methodological Framework ............................................................. 38 Selecting Methodology ................................................................. 38 vii CHAPTER Page Process Tracing and Case Selection ............................................. 41 Data Sources ................................................................................. 43 Measurement ................................................................................. 44 Within-Case Variation ...................................................................... 50 The 1968 Attempted Raid on the Blue House ............................. 52 The 1968 Communist Guerillas‟ Infiltration ............................... 54 The 1976 Axe Murder Incident .................................................... 56 3 THE ROK MILITARY'S COIN IN VIETNAM................................. 59 Overview ..........................................................................................