According to The Chosun Ilbo, Clinton Administration Defense Secretary William Cohen (now chairman of the Cohen Group in Washington) expressed the opinion recently at a Washington meeting that the transfer of military command and control to South Korea would not include air force assets. Attending the meeting was South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, who must not have been pleased. A US Embassy official in South Korea, making the same claim a week earlier, has been denounced by his own embassy. The South Korean Defense Ministry and the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, reports the newspaper, have denied the separation of control rumors. At latest word, Washington wants a speedier turnover than Seoul, but discussion continues.
The U.S. military is carrying out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions along the southern border and off the coast of Mexico using U.S. Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint and U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft as part of the Pentagon’s effort to secure the southern border at the direction of President…