DOCSLIB.ORG

International Dimensions of the Korean War

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

1 International Dimensions of the Korean War Youngho Kim (Department of Political Science, Sungshin Women's University) Introduction The Korean War was the disaster unprecedented in the modern history of the Korean nation. The opening of the Soviet and Chinese archives enables us to reevaluate the international dimensions of the origins and development of this tragic war.1) The intensity of the war and the enormous suffering of the nation cannot be adequately explained without due regard to the international dimensions of the war. Yet International dimensions have been eclipsed by civil war theories which find the locus of the war in domestic factors such as border clashes between North and South Korea. Civil war theories were first advanced by I. F. Stone and D. F. Flemming in hypothetical forms.2) They were elaborated by Bruce 1) Russian President Boris Yeltsin handed over Soviet archival documents on the Korean War to President Kim Young Sam of the Republic of Korea (ROK) during the latter's visit to Moscow in June 1994. The collection of Soviet documents includes 216 previously classified documents, dated 1949 to 1953, totaling 548 pages. The summarized version of the Korean translation of the collection was released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the ROK in July 1994. The Korean translation will be hereafter called the Soviet Documents. The Soviet Documents will be cited in English from translation of the Korean version with the date of the documents. Most of the Soviet archival documents have been translated into English by Kathryn Weathersby. If the documents are quoted from her translation, they will be specified. For her translation, see Kathryn Weathersby, "The Soviet Role in the Early Phase of the Korean War: New Documentary Evidence," Journal of American-East Asian Relations, Vol. 2, No. 4 (Winter 1993), pp. 425-58; also Weathersby, "To Attack, or Not to Attack? Stalin, Kim Il Sung, and the Prelude to War," Cold War International History Project Bulletin, No. 5 (Spring 1995), pp. 1-9 (hereafter cited as CWIHP Bulletin); also Weathersby, "New Russian Documents on the Korean War," CWIHP Bulletin, Nos. 6-7 (Winter 1995-1996), pp. 30-84. For Soviet documents on Chinese intervention, see Alexander Mansourov, "Stalin, Mao, Kim and Chinas Decision to Enter the Korean War, September 16-October 15, 1950: New Evidence from the Russian Archives," CWIHP Bulletin, Nos. 6-7, pp. 94-119. One of the most important Chinese sources is a collection of Mao Zedong's manuscript entitled Jianguo Yilai Mao Zedong Wengo (Mao Zedong's manuscripts since the Founding of the Republic) which has been translated into English. See Li Ziaobing, Wang Xi, and Chen Jian, "Mao's Dispatch of Chinese Troops to Korea: Forty-Six Telegrams, July-October 1950," Chinese Historians, Vol. 5, No. 1 (Spring 1992), pp. 63-86; also Sergei N. Goncharov, John W. Lewis, and Xue Litai, Uncertain Partners: Stalin, Mao, and the Korean War (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1993), pp. 229-291. 2 Cumings, most notably in his "second mosaic" thesis which finds the origins of the war in the South's provocation of the border conflict and the counterattack by the North along the 38th parallel.3) Cumings greatly benifited from the declassification of US official documents in the 1970s. In contrast, the traditional theories which emphasize the international dimensions of the war cannot provide solid evidence because of the inaccessibility of Soviet documentary sources. With the opening of the Soviet and Chinese archives it is possible to critically evaluate civil war theories and to shed new light on the international dimensions of the war. This essay has two objectives. The first objective is to critically analyze civil war theories. Analysis will focus on Cumings's civil war theory, the most systematic of the genre. New Soviet documents show that the border conflicts on the 38th parallel constitued the focal point around which the strategic calculations of Stalin and Kim Il Sung revolved before the decision on the North's invasion was made. This essay will demonstrate that Stalin put tight reins on the major border conflicts which might escalate into a general war between the North and South. Thus Cumings's claim that the origins of the war can be found in the extension of the border clashes cannot be substantiated. Despite Kim's repeated requests Stalin did not allow Kim to invade the South until there emerged an advantageous strategic environment to advance Soviet national interests in the Cold War struggle with the United States. The second objective of this essay is to explain when Stalin decided to allow Kim to invade the South. The timing of Stalin's decision has been an unresolved question before the declassification of the Soviet documents. New 2) I. F. Stone, The Hidden History of the Korean War, 1950-1951 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1988), p. 44; D. F. Flemming, The Cold War and its Origins, Vol. II, 1950-1960 (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1961), p. 606. Stone's book, originally published by the Monthly Review Press in 1951, was reprinted with a new preface by Cumings in 1988. 3) Bruce Cumings, The Origins of the Korean War, Vol. II (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990), pp. 568-621. 3 evidence shows that Stalin expressed his intention to approve Kim's invasion on January 30, 1950, just after the agreement on the new Sino-Soviet alliance treaty had been striken. During the meeting with Mao on January 22, 1950, Stalin announced his decision to throw away the Yalta agreement signed with the US and asked Mao to join with him in the struggle with the US.4) This essay will demonstrate that Stalin's Korea decision was made as part of his global Cold War strategy. Stalin sought to deal a severe blow to the prestige of the US by removing the South from the US sphere of influence. He also sought to weaken US capabilities in Korea by using Communist Chinese forces and Soviet air force when the US intervened in the war. A Critique of Cumings's Civil War Theory Civil war theories explain the origins of the Korean War in terms of the issue of land reform and border conflicts. The prominent civil war theorist is Bruce Cumings. He emphasizes the influence of the legacies of the Japanese colonial era on the outbreak of the war. The division of Korea after the liberation hindered the Korean nation from solving the negative colonial legacies. Cumings cites land reform as one of the most important issues. Yet he claims that there appeared a great difference in the resolution of the issue in the two Koreas. The North which accomplished a successful land reform in 1946 decided to occupy the South and undertake the land reform in the South. Thus the Korean War can be construed as a civil war which occurred to solve the land reform. To support his view, Cumings claims that "it is generally thought that land reform began to be implemented before June 1950, but in fact not a single acre had changed hands by June 25."5) Yet a captured North Korean document during the Korean War shows that land reform in the South had been fully accomplished before the outbreak of 4) "Conversation between Stalin and Mao," January 22, 1950, CWIHP Bulletin, Vols. 6-7, pp. 7-9. 5) Cumings, The Origins of the Korean War, Vol. II, p. 455. 4 the war. The document is a survey report on the status of the land reform in the South written by the officials of the North who occupied the Bo-Eun Kun area.6) This report confirms that lands were successfully distributed to farmers in the area. In other areas in the South land reform had already been accomplished before June 1950. Thus Cuming's civil war theory which finds the war's origin in land reform cannot be substantiated. Cumings also tries to explain the origins of the war in terms of the extension of the border clashes along the 38th parallel between the North and South. His civil war theory is presented in the form of the "second mosaic thesis." The essence of the second mosaic is that the war was sparked by the South's provocation on the Onjin peninsula, and quickly spread to the 38th parallel with the mobilization of Northern troops.7) There were no inland roads to the peninsula from the South, thus Ongjin was cut off from the rest of South Korea. The South's provocation ignited the war with the chain reaction by the North. Cumings concludes that "the war began in the same, remote locus of much of the 1949 fighting, the Ongjin peninsula, and some hours later spread along the parallel westward, to Kaesong, Chunchon, and the East Coast."8) Cumings's claim that the South provoked a border conflict in the night of June 24-25, 1950 was dismissed by the South Korean official history as "a completely exaggerated false report contrary to the facts."9) Moreover, new Soviet documents show that Stalin dispatched Soviet Lieutenant General Vasiliev, a hero of the German-Soviet conflict in World War II, to prepare the invasion plan just after he decided to approve the North Korean invasion.10) Vasiliev completed the plan with General Kang Kon, the Chief of Staff of North 6) "Tonggye Bogo e Kwanhayo - Bo-Eun Kun Tojigaehyuk e Kwanhan Tonggye," ("On the Report of the Statistics - the Statistics on the Land Reform of Bo-Eun Kun," Item 4/87, SA 2010, Record Group (RG) 242, Washington National Records Center. 7) Cumings, The Origins of the Korean War, Vol.
Recommended publications
  • New Evidence on the Korean War

    New Evidence on the Korean War

    176 COLD WAR INTERNATIONAL HISTORY PROJECT BULLETIN 11 New Evidence on the Korean War Editor’s note: The documents featured in this section of the Bulletin present new evidence on the allegations that the United States used bacteriological weapons during the Korean War. In the accompanying commentaries, historian Kathryn Weathersby and scientist Milton Leitenberg (University of Maryland) provide analysis, context and interpretation of these documents. Unlike other documents published in the Bulletin, these documents, first obtained and published (in Japanese) by the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun, have not been authenticated by access to the archival originals (or even photocopies thereof). The documents were copied by hand in the Russian Presidential Archive in Moscow, then typed. Though both commentators believe them to be genuine based on textual analysis, questions about the authenticity of the documents, as the commentators note, will remain until the original documents become available in the archives. Copies of the typed transcription (in Russian) have been deposited at the National Security Archive, a non-governmental research institute and repository of declassified documents based at George Washington University (Gelman Library, Suite 701; 2130 H St., NW; Washington, DC 20037; tel: 202/994-7000; fax: 202/ 994-7005) and are accessible to researchers. CWIHP welcomes the discussion of these new findings and encourages the release of the originals and additional materials on the issue from Russian, Chinese, Korean and U.S. archives. Deceiving the Deceivers: Moscow, Beijing, Pyongyang, and the Allegations of Bacteriological Weapons Use in Korea By Kathryn Weathersby n January 1998 the Japanese newspaper Sankei raised by their irregular provenance? Their style and form Shimbun published excerpts from a collection of do not raise suspicion.
  • THE BERLIN-KOREA PARALLEL: BERLIN and AMERICAN NATIONAL SECURITY in LIGHT of the KOREAN WAR Author(S): DAVID G

    THE BERLIN-KOREA PARALLEL: BERLIN and AMERICAN NATIONAL SECURITY in LIGHT of the KOREAN WAR Author(S): DAVID G

    THE BERLIN-KOREA PARALLEL: BERLIN AND AMERICAN NATIONAL SECURITY IN LIGHT OF THE KOREAN WAR Author(s): DAVID G. COLEMAN Reviewed work(s): Source: Australasian Journal of American Studies, Vol. 18, No. 1 (July, 1999), pp. 19-41 Published by: Australia and New Zealand American Studies Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41018739 . Accessed: 18/09/2012 14:16 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Australia and New Zealand American Studies Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Australasian Journal of American Studies. http://www.jstor.org AUSTRALASIAN JOURNALOF AMERICAN STUDIES 19 THE BERLIN-KOREA PARALLEL: BERLIN AND AMERICAN NATIONAL SECURITY IN LIGHT OF THE KOREAN WAR DAVID G. COLEMAN The Korean War had a profoundimpact on the ways in which American policymakersperceived the Cold War.Nowhere was thismore fact evident than in the case of Berlin. Despite the geographicalseparation between the two countries,policymakers became concernedwith what theyidentified as the 'Berlin-Koreaparallel.' Holding the Soviet Union responsible for North Korea's aggression,Washington believed that in NorthKorea's attackit was witnessing a new Sovietcapability that could give theUSSR a decisiveedge in the Cold War.
  • American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics

    American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics

    American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics Updated July 29, 2020 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov RL32492 American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics Summary This report provides U.S. war casualty statistics. It includes data tables containing the number of casualties among American military personnel who served in principal wars and combat operations from 1775 to the present. It also includes data on those wounded in action and information such as race and ethnicity, gender, branch of service, and cause of death. The tables are compiled from various Department of Defense (DOD) sources. Wars covered include the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict, and the Persian Gulf War. Military operations covered include the Iranian Hostage Rescue Mission; Lebanon Peacekeeping; Urgent Fury in Grenada; Just Cause in Panama; Desert Shield and Desert Storm; Restore Hope in Somalia; Uphold Democracy in Haiti; Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF); Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF); Operation New Dawn (OND); Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR); and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel (OFS). Starting with the Korean War and the more recent conflicts, this report includes additional detailed information on types of casualties and, when available, demographics. It also cites a number of resources for further information, including sources of historical statistics on active duty military deaths, published lists of military personnel killed in combat actions, data on demographic indicators among U.S. military personnel, related websites, and relevant CRS reports. Congressional Research Service American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................................
  • 1 the Turks and Europe by Gaston Gaillard London: Thomas Murby & Co

    1 the Turks and Europe by Gaston Gaillard London: Thomas Murby & Co

    THE TURKS AND EUROPE BY GASTON GAILLARD LONDON: THOMAS MURBY & CO. 1 FLEET LANE, E.C. 1921 1 vi CONTENTS PAGES VI. THE TREATY WITH TURKEY: Mustafa Kemal’s Protest—Protests of Ahmed Riza and Galib Kemaly— Protest of the Indian Caliphate Delegation—Survey of the Treaty—The Turkish Press and the Treaty—Jafar Tayar at Adrianople—Operations of the Government Forces against the Nationalists—French Armistice in Cilicia—Mustafa Kemal’s Operations—Greek Operations in Asia Minor— The Ottoman Delegation’s Observations at the Peace Conference—The Allies’ Answer—Greek Operations in Thrace—The Ottoman Government decides to sign the Treaty—Italo-Greek Incident, and Protests of Armenia, Yugo-Slavia, and King Hussein—Signature of the Treaty – 169—271 VII. THE DISMEMBERMENT OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE: 1. The Turco-Armenian Question - 274—304 2. The Pan-Turanian and Pan-Arabian Movements: Origin of Pan-Turanism—The Turks and the Arabs—The Hejaz—The Emir Feisal—The Question of Syria—French Operations in Syria— Restoration of Greater Lebanon—The Arabian World and the Caliphate—The Part played by Islam - 304—356 VIII. THE MOSLEMS OF THE FORMER RUSSIAN EMPIRE AND TURKEY: The Republic of Northern Caucasus—Georgia and Azerbaïjan—The Bolshevists in the Republics of Caucasus and of the Transcaspian Isthmus—Armenians and Moslems - 357—369 IX. TURKEY AND THE SLAVS: Slavs versus Turks—Constantinople and Russia - 370—408 2 THE TURKS AND EUROPE I THE TURKS The peoples who speak the various Turkish dialects and who bear the generic name of Turcomans, or Turco-Tatars, are distributed over huge territories occupying nearly half of Asia and an important part of Eastern Europe.
  • Timeline of the Cold War

    Timeline of the Cold War

    Timeline of the Cold War 1945 Defeat of Germany and Japan February 4-11: Yalta Conference meeting of FDR, Churchill, Stalin - the 'Big Three' Soviet Union has control of Eastern Europe. The Cold War Begins May 8: VE Day - Victory in Europe. Germany surrenders to the Red Army in Berlin July: Potsdam Conference - Germany was officially partitioned into four zones of occupation. August 6: The United States drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima (20 kiloton bomb 'Little Boy' kills 80,000) August 8: Russia declares war on Japan August 9: The United States drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki (22 kiloton 'Fat Man' kills 70,000) August 14 : Japanese surrender End of World War II August 15: Emperor surrender broadcast - VJ Day 1946 February 9: Stalin hostile speech - communism & capitalism were incompatible March 5 : "Sinews of Peace" Iron Curtain Speech by Winston Churchill - "an "iron curtain" has descended on Europe" March 10: Truman demands Russia leave Iran July 1: Operation Crossroads with Test Able was the first public demonstration of America's atomic arsenal July 25: America's Test Baker - underwater explosion 1947 Containment March 12 : Truman Doctrine - Truman declares active role in Greek Civil War June : Marshall Plan is announced setting a precedent for helping countries combat poverty, disease and malnutrition September 2: Rio Pact - U.S. meet 19 Latin American countries and created a security zone around the hemisphere 1948 Containment February 25 : Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia March 2: Truman's Loyalty Program created to catch Cold War
  • Religion: Christianity and Zoroastrianism

    Religion: Christianity and Zoroastrianism

    This page intentionally left blank ROME AND PERSIA IN LATE ANTIQUITY The foundation of the Sasanian Empire in ad 224 established a formidable new power on the Roman Empire’s Eastern frontier, and relations over the next four centuries proved turbulent. This book provides a chronological narrative of their relationship, supported by a substantial collection of translated sources illustrating important themes and structural patterns. The political goals of the two sides, their military confrontations and their diplomatic solutions are dis- cussed, as well as the common interests between the two powers. Special attention is given to the situation of Arabia and Armenia, to economic aspects, the protection of the frontiers, the religious life in both empires and the channels of communication between East and West. In its wide chronological scope, the study explores the role played by the Sasanians in the history of the ancient Near East. The book will prove invaluable for students and non-specialists interested in late antiquity and early Byzantium, and it will be equally useful for specialists on these subjects. beate dignas is Fellow and Tutorin Ancient History at Somerville College, Oxford. Her recent publications include Economy of the Sacred in Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor (2002) and she has edited a forthcoming book Practitioners of the Divine: Greek Priests and Religious Officials from Homer to Heliodorus. engelbert winter is Professor of Ancient History at the Uni- versity of Munster.¨ He has participated in numerous field surveys and excavations in Turkey and published many books and articles on Roman–Persian relations and the history and culture of Asia Minor.
  • Cold Start – Hot Stop? a Strategic Concern for Pakistan

    Cold Start – Hot Stop? a Strategic Concern for Pakistan

    79 COLD START – HOT STOP? A STRATEGIC CONCERN FOR PAKISTAN * Muhammad Ali Baig Abstract The hostile environment in South Asia is a serious concern for the international players. This volatile situation is further fuelled by escalating arms race and aggressive force postures. The Indian Cold Start Doctrine (CSD) has supplemented negatively to the South Asian strategic stability by trying to find a way in fighting a conventional limited war just below the nuclear umbrella. It was reactionary in nature to overcome the shortcomings exhibited during Operation Parakram of 2001-02, executed under the premise of Sundarji Doctrine. The Cold Start is an adapted version of German Blitzkrieg which makes it a dangerous instrument. Apart from many limitations, the doctrine remains relevant to the region, primarily due to the attestation of its presence by the then Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat in January 2017. This paper is an effort to probe the different aspects of Cold Start, its prerequisites in provisions of three sets; being a bluff based on deception, myth rooted in misperception, and a reality flanked by escalation; and how and why CSD is a strategic concern for Pakistan. Keywords: Cold Start Doctrine, Strategic Stability, Conventional Warfare, Pakistan, India. Introduction here is a general consensus on the single permanent aspect of international system T that has dominated the international relations ever since and its history and relevance are as old as the existence of man and the civilization itself; the entity is called war.1 This relevance was perhaps best described by Leon Trotsky who averred that “you may not be interested in war, but war may be interested in you.”2 To fight, avert and to pose credible deterrence, armed forces strive for better yet flexible doctrines to support their respective strategies in conducting defensive as well as offensive operations and to dominate in adversarial environments.
  • 288 of War-Time Property Taxes in Britain. with Britain Committed To

    288 of War-Time Property Taxes in Britain. with Britain Committed To

    of war-time property taxes in Britain. With Britain committed to peace, the two sides signed the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, which, tellingly, restored the status quo ante bellum.98 Writing to George Canning on December 28, Liverpool framed Britain’s continued presence in North America with a combination of realism and fatalism. The “weakness of Canada,” Liverpool observed, derived from the vast advantage in population possessed by the United States—Canada had a population of approximately 300,000, whereas the U.S. population numbered 7,500,000. Liverpool believed that Britain could continue to hold and defend British Canada, “but the frontier must in any case be of such prodigious extent, that it never could be made, as a frontier, defensible against the means which the Americans might bring against it.”99 Bathurst underlined what this understanding meant for Native Americans in two letters to Pakenham written on November 27. The British government urged native leaders to reach independent agreements with the United States based on the Treaty of Ghent, but cautioned that the British state “could not be justified in affording them further Assistance if they should persist in Hostilities.” As a means of strengthening 98 Liverpool to Castlereagh, November 11, 1814, in The Life and Administration of Robert Banks, Second Earl of Liverpool, K. G., Late First Lord of the Treasury, comp. by Charles Duke Yonge (London, MacMillan and Co., 1868), 2: 72-74. Islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy represented the only exception to the restoration of status quo ante bellum. The bay had represented disputed territory prior to the War of 1812, and the two countries agreed to abide by a principle of uti possidetis concerning the islands in the first article of the treaty.
  • Truth and Reconciliation� � Activities of the Past Three Years�� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

    Truth and Reconciliation Activities of the Past Three Years

    Truth and Reconciliation Activities of the Past Three Years CONTENTS President's Greeting I. Historical Background of Korea's Past Settlement II. Introduction to the Commission 1. Outline: Objective of the Commission 2. Organization and Budget 3. Introduction to Commissioners and Staff 4. Composition and Operation III. Procedure for Investigation 1. Procedure of Petition and Method of Application 2. Investigation and Determination of Truth-Finding 3. Present Status of Investigation 4. Measures for Recommendation and Reconciliation IV. Extra-Investigation Activities 1. Exhumation Work 2. Complementary Activities of Investigation V. Analysis of Verified Cases 1. National Independence and the History of Overseas Koreans 2. Massacres by Groups which Opposed the Legitimacy of the Republic of Korea 3. Massacres 4. Human Rights Abuses VI. MaJor Achievements and Further Agendas 1. Major Achievements 2. Further Agendas Appendices 1. Outline and Full Text of the Framework Act Clearing up Past Incidents 2. Frequently Asked Questions about the Commission 3. Primary Media Coverage on the Commission's Activities 4. Web Sites of Other Truth Commissions: Home and Abroad President's Greeting In entering the third year of operation, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Republic of Korea (the Commission) is proud to present the "Activities of the Past Three Years" and is thankful for all of the continued support. The Commission, launched in December 2005, has strived to reveal the truth behind massacres during the Korean War, human rights abuses during the authoritarian rule, the anti-Japanese independence movement, and the history of overseas Koreans. It is not an easy task to seek the truth in past cases where the facts have been hidden and distorted for decades.
  • Background Essay on the Korean War ______

    Background Essay on the Korean War ______

    Background Essay on the Korean War _____________________________________________ In 1945, the scars of World War II across the world were still fresh. The fear of having to engage in another world war was very real. A mere two years after the end of WWII, the Cold War began. The United Nations, which was formed to provide a forum to prevent future wars, included the membership of the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and 57 other countries. The US adopted a firm stance to contain the spread of communism, which was being aggressively promoted by the USSR. The Korean War began when the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) crossed the 28th parallel into South Korea. Adhering to its policy of containment, the United States could not ignore the threat of communism in Asia, but neither the president nor the public wanted a long, drawn out war. President Truman hand selected General Douglas MacArthur to lead the U.S. troops in South Korea. MacArthur arrived at his post a World War II hero, having successfully led multiple troops through the war. Following his victories in WWII he had become the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan. MacArthur was revered and highly praised in the United States. The general assured the president that the Korean War would be short-lived and that the American troops would be home by Christmas. MacArthur was initially successful in driving back the North Korean forces over the 38th parallel. He made a controversial move, however, when he continued to push the North Koreans further north and suggested bombing cities in China that were thought to be aiding the North Korean troops.
  • The Causes of the Korean War, 1950-1953

    The Causes of the Korean War, 1950-1953

    The Causes of the Korean War, 1950-1953 Ohn Chang-Il Korea Military Academy ABSTRACT The causes of the Korean War (1950-1953) can be examined in two categories, ideological and political. Ideologically, the communist side, including the Soviet Union, China, and North Korea, desired to secure the Korean peninsula and incorporate it in a communist bloc. Politically, the Soviet Union considered the Korean peninsula in the light of Poland in Eastern Europe—as a springboard to attack Russia—and asserted that the Korean government should be “loyal” to the Soviet Union. Because of this policy and strategic posture, the Soviet military government in North Korea (1945-48) rejected any idea of establishing one Korean government under the guidance of the United Nations. The two Korean governments, instead of one, were thus established, one in South Korea under the blessing of the United Nations and the other in the north under the direction of the Soviet Union. Observing this Soviet posture on the Korean peninsula, North Korean leader Kim Il-sung asked for Soviet support to arm North Korean forces and Stalin fully supported Kim and secured newly-born Communist China’s support for the cause. Judging that it needed a buffer zone against the West and Soviet aid for nation building, the Chinese government readily accepted a role to aid North Korea, specifically, in case of full American intervention in the projected war. With full support from the Soviet Union and comradely assistance from China, Kim Il-sung attacked South Korea with forces that were better armed, equipped, and prepared than their counterparts in South Korea.
  • The Syrian Civil War: a Proxy War in the 21St Century a Senior Research Thesis California State University Maritime Academy Felipe I

    The Syrian Civil War: a Proxy War in the 21St Century a Senior Research Thesis California State University Maritime Academy Felipe I

    1 The Syrian Civil War: A Proxy War in the 21st Century A Senior Research Thesis California State University Maritime Academy Felipe I. Rosales The Syrian Civil War: A Proxy War in the 21st Century 2 Abstract The Syrian Civil War is one of the most devastating conflicts of the 21st century and the cause of the worst humanitarian crisis in recent history. It stems between the ruling Al-Assad Regime and a series of opposition rebel groups. The Assad Regime has had the backing of this historical ally, the Russian Federation. Rebel forces have had the continued backing from a collation between western nations, led by the United States. The purpose of this thesis is to determine if the Syrian Civil War was a proxy war between the United States and Russia, and to determine what it means for the future of US-Russia relations. SInce the end of the Second World War and the rise of the nuclear deterrent, war by proxy has become a common strategy used by larger powers. If the Syrian Civil War is truly a proxy war between the United States and Russia, it brings to question the validity of the end of the Cold War. By comparing it to previous Cold War-era proxy wars, we can derive the features that make up a proxy war and apply them to the Syrian Civil War. This thesis uses several precious proxy wars as case studies. These include the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Afghan-Soviet War. While each of these was a very different war, they each share a handful of similarities that make them Proxy Wars.