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Korea: First War of the Atomic Age

Korea: First War of the Atomic Age. 1945. Japan is ousted from North Korea. US and Soviets agree to partition Korea at the 38 th Parallel, an old boundary stemming from tension between the Russians and Japanese in 1902. 1948-1949.

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Korea: First War of the Atomic Age

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  1. Korea: First War of the Atomic Age

  2. 1945 • Japan is ousted from North Korea. • US and Soviets agree to partition Korea at the 38th Parallel, an old boundary stemming from tension between the Russians and Japanese in 1902.

  3. 1948-1949 • The UN approves of the creation of the Republic of Korea (ROK)- South Korea. • The Soviets support the creation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)- North Korea. • Each side claims to be the legitimate gov’t of Korea and threatens to invade the other.

  4. US Grand Strategy • US troops leave the Korean Peninsula. We do not want to be drawn into a war with the DPRK. • US strategy intends to utilize Pacific islands such as Japan, (Okinawa) and the Philippines as bases. • With Mao’s alliance in 1950, Stalin is emboldened to widen the Communist sphere of influence in Asia…

  5. Stalin’s Grand Strategy • Stalin agrees to the idea of a proxy war. • Proxy War (noun): A war instigated by a major power that does not itself participate • The Soviets were overconfident the US would not respond because they previously declined to help the Chinese Nationalists during the Chinese Civil War.

  6. Dean Acheson:The Man who Started the Korean War • Korea is outside of US “defensive perimeter” in the Pacific. • Is it fair to blame one man?

  7. Line of Departure • Stalin’s analysis of Acheson’s speech (and approval of a proxy war) was bolstered by information from British spies who had access to a National Security Council study on the security situation in the Asia-Pacific region. Kim Philby, official British intelligence liaison to the US (1949-1951) and Soviet double agent.

  8. The Second Front: Vietnam • 1950: Stalin encourages Ho Chi Minh to intensify his guerilla war against French colonists in Vietnam. 1952: French troops ferret out a Vietminh guerilla from a “spider hole” in a rice paddy.

  9. Oops.

  10. Ramifications • Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg withdraw from NATO. • Riots erupt throughout Japan. • 150,000 Chinese Communists are killed, plus 10,000 Allied POWs.

  11. Just Kidding.

  12. Deterrence Theory • “Deterrence” is a threat to attack an opponent if they aren’t behaving the way you want them to. • In Deterrence Theory there is an imposer and a target. • In order to maintain credibility, the imposer must communicate his capability to effectively attack the target very CLEARLY.

  13. The Problem With Nuclear Deterrence • The target must value the object of the threat. • What if the target is an “irrational” actor, and doesn’t care about the threat? • The imposer then must make his threat a reality to not be seen as bluffing. • If the imposer doesn’t make good on his threat, the target will continue the “negative” behavior and deterrence is lost. • What’s the problem with threatening a country with nuclear weapons, with a nuclear attack?

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