Military Action I: The “Good” US Military Action outside of Vietnam US Military Intervention: Very Selective
● Aid, covert action and proxy wars were usually effective.
● Full intervention was a last resort. ○ Korea, Cuba, Dominican Republic. Korea: Background ● Korea occupied by US and USSR in 1945
● Communist north ruled by Kim Il Sung.
● Capitalist south ruled by Syngman Rhee. Chinese Civil War
● Communist insurgency against nationalists led by Mao Zedong.
● Truce during World War II. Communists take over Chinese mainland in 1949 ● Communist forces overwhelm nationalists after World War II.
● KMT forced to retreat to Taiwan. Kim Il Sung Pressures Stalin
● Kim Il Sung pushes for invasion.
● Stalin approves in 1950, does not provide direct support. North Korea Invades South
● Quickly overwhelm Southern troops.
● Occupy most of the peninsula. US responds.
● Ground invasion with UN troops.
● Repels North Korean advance.
● Recapture Seoul. Why did the US use ground troops? Why did the US use ground troops? ● Possibility of other communist conquest.
● UN support.
● Loss of China.
● South Korean troops in disarray. UN troops cross 38th parallel, approach China ● China joins the war.
● Chinese support repels UN.
● Communist troops briefly re-take Seoul. Why did the US invade North Korea? Why did the US invade North Korea?
● Begin Roll-back of communism
● Pressure from China Lobby
● MacArthur’s independent decision Stalemate and Armistice
● Troop lines settle around 38th parallel.
● No gains for two years.
● Armistice in 1953. Cuba: Castro sides with Soviets.
● Rebuffed by US.
● Embargo not lifted.
● Refugees land in US. US attempts to overthrow Castro
● Numerous assassination attempts.
● CIA-supported counter- revolutionaries.
● All plots fail. Bay of Pigs invasion
● CIA-trained Cuban exiles land in Cuba.
● Initial success.
● Repelled and captured by government forces. Soviets place nuclear missiles in Cuba
In order to: ● Deter US invasion.
● Counter US missiles in Turkey US spy planes photograph missile sites
● Kennedy faced with response choices: US spy planes photograph missile sites
● Kennedy faced with response choices: ○ Do Nothing ○ Diplomacy ○ Naval Blockade ○ Air Strikes ○ Ground Invasion Kennedy chooses blockade
● Threatens ships that don’t turn back.
● Soviet ships turn back.
● Khrushchev acquiesces. Kennedy-Khrushchev agreement
● Soviet nukes withdrawn from Cuba
● American nukes withdrawn from Turkey and Italy
● US promises not to invade Cuba Kennedy perceived as victor Dominican Republic under Trujillo
● One party state since 1930.
● ‘our son-of-a-bitch’
● Assassinated in 1961. Juan Bosch elected in 1963
● Bosch is a moderate socialist.
● Overthrown by military junta and wealthy economic interests. Civil War in 1965; junta losing
● Rebels supporting Bosch overrun Santo Domingo (capital).
● US fears ‘second Castro’ US sends Marines to restore junta Why did the US intervene Why did the US intervene
● Stated ‘Johnson Doctrine’
● Rabe’s Argument Discussion
● Was US intervention in Korea successful?
● Who ‘won’ the Cuban Missile Crisis?
● Was US military intervention to stop communism or maintain economic influence? On Thursday... Preserving the Iron Curtain