Another Gulf of Tonkin? AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 06/01/2010

Another Gulf of Tonkin?

AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 06/01/2010 Many Filipinos with relatives in Korea will be concerned as tension in the peninsula mounts following the allegation that a North Korean torpedo was responsible for the sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan in March this year and the loss of its 46-strong crew. Me too. My 18-year-old son has been in Seoul since January and is due back in the Philippines in the middle of this month. It was with more than casual interest, therefore, that I read a couple of pieces about the situation sent my way by a cyber-friend. Rather wordily titled (“The sinking of the Cheonan: We are being lied to” and “PCC Cheonan: An unacceptable provocation by the United States of America and the international community has a duty to respond”), the pieces are written by Scott Creighton and can be found on http://willyloman.wordpress.com, where they were posted on May 24 and 27, respectively. The mass media, of course, has largely accepted the version of events purveyed by South Korea, as has US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has described the “evidence” as “overwhelming and condemning.” Creighton, as may be gleaned from his titles, casts doubt on the official version. The current situation has been brought about by the publication of the report on May 20 of the investigation carried out by the South Koreans, assisted by “experts” from the USA, the UK, Australia and Sweden. These countries, says Creighton, “are about as ‘objective’ toward the United States as we (the USA) are toward Israel.” He acknowledges, however, that Sweden resisted the finding that the Cheonan was sunk by a torpedo and that North Korea was to blame until May 19. He also points out that the report is silent on the fact that the US and South Korean navies were engaged in war games at the time of the sinking. The report found that the torpedo parts recovered with the salvaged Cheonan included “5x5 bladed contra-rotating propellers, propulsion motor and a steering section” which were a “perfect match” for “the schematics of the CHT-02D torpedo” as illustrated for export purposes in a North Korean brochure.  Creighton, however, points to four differences between the recovered torpedo and the CHT-02D, including the size of the propeller-hubs, the shape of the propellers, and the positioning of a component that may be the stabilizers or the propulsion system.... MORE   Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100601com5.html

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