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I understand why, right after WWII and before Vietnam, but never the less it was extremely brutal, with close to 34,000 dead just on the American side. And it still has huge repercussions to this day.
I understand why, right after WWII and before Vietnam, but never the less it was extremely brutal, with close to 34,000 dead just on the American side. And it still has huge repercussions to this day.
Not to mention 1/5th of the North Korean population died as a result.
Given we are no longer at war with Germany, Japan, or Vietnam, it's probably best if we start learning more about the war that's still technically ongoing.
Victories stir our soul and swell our pride. Defeats cause sorrow and reflection. But stalemates? They just seem kind of pointless. Maybe that's why the Korean War doesn't get much recognition.
Yes I do. The Korean war was one of most shining success stories in history. Look how South Korea prospered and became such a huge success. We truly kept the Koreans free so that they could use their abilities to prosper. But I think that we have done what we could and should now get out.
Victories stir our soul and swell our pride. Defeats cause sorrow and reflection. But stalemates? They just seem kind of pointless. Maybe that's why the Korean War doesn't get much recognition.
The Korean War was a victory from both the U.S. and South Korean perspectives. The objectives of the war, keeping South Korea from being entirely conquered and rolling back the seizures that had taken place, were accomplished. The mission-creep objectives (conquest of the South, invasion of China) were not accomplished, but that has no bearing on the fact that the objectives over which the war was launched were met. After all, no one thinks that the UK 'lost' the Falklands War because they didn't invade Argentina and seize Buenos Aires. Their objective was to reverse the Argentine takeover of the islands. And this was accomplished. So, too, was the Korean War successfully prosecuted.
But I think you're right about perception, anyway; if there's not some glorious and tangible gain (such as territorial conquest) available for public consumption, a conflict will be seen as less than worthy by those who perceive war as a football game that needs a clear winner and loser, rather than as a pursuit of objectives that can usually be satisfied without conquest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nickerman
Yes I do. The Korean war was one of most shining success stories in history. Look how South Korea prospered and became such a huge success. We truly kept the Koreans free so that they could use their abilities to prosper. But I think that we have done what we could and should now get out.
The U.S. participation in the Korean War was not an effort to, and did not result in, 'keeping the Koreans free'. Neither Koreans in the North nor in the South were free at the onset, and the perpetuation of South Korea's authoritarian government continued for over three more decades after the armistice. It is true that the South Korean system was a far cry from the Stalinist insanity north of the border, but that doesn't mean that it was free in any sense of the word.
Foreign policy - and armed conflict is merely foreign policy taken to a certain extreme - is a messy, inelegant business invariably fraught with realpolitik. This is not a criticism of the American participation in that war. It served both American and South Korean interests in both the short and long terms. But there is no need to whitewash history by pretending that it was something it wasn't.
I understand why, right after WWII and before Vietnam, but never the less it was extremely brutal, with close to 34,000 dead just on the American side. And it still has huge repercussions to this day.
This war occurred as I was in public school and living at home.
It received thorough newspaper coverage. But I do remember people being taken aback by how poorly the war went, and then the final stalemate and truce.
And then the silence. The Korean War just disappeared and was never talked about. I think the stalemate after the victories of WWII rather stunned Americans into face-saving forgetfulness after the flush of those great victories.
I understand why, right after WWII and before Vietnam, but never the less it was extremely brutal, with close to 34,000 dead just on the American side. And it still has huge repercussions to this day.
3 million dead on the North Korean side, thanks to our great country. Fair fight.
Victories stir our soul and swell our pride. Defeats cause sorrow and reflection. But stalemates? They just seem kind of pointless. Maybe that's why the Korean War doesn't get much recognition.
'Stalemate' doesn't really do the casualty total justice here.
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