America's Involvement in the Korean War

America's Involvement in the Korean War

The USA emerged from WWII as the dominant Western, democratic

superpower. She quickly established for herself a role as world

policeman, and defender of the "free world". When, on June 25th 1950,

Communist North Korean forces invaded the South of the country, the

USAwas quick to step in, and with UN support and approval, sent in

military forces to restore the balance. However, it is questionable

whether moral principles were the only reason for America's

involvement in the Korean War, or whether perhaps the Truman

administration had other validation for such a huge scale military

campaign.

Although the USA and USSR had been allied in WWII, US-Soviet relations

quickly disintegrated after the War. An enduring political and

ideological divide emerged between the democratic capitalist

governments of the Western world, and the Communist governments of the

East. As Soviet troops liberated Eastern Europe from Nazi occupation,

the USSR supported the establishment of Communist governments in

nations like Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The USA interpreted

this as an aggressive invasion, which effectively constituted empire

building. In order to stem the red tide of Communism across Europe,

the USA poured billions of dollars of investment into Western Europe

through the Marshall Plan. The Truman doctrine was set out, outlining

America's intentions to stop the spread of Communism, and a policy of

Containment materialised. The USA did not make any attempt to

"liberate" Communist countries, but was determined to make sure that

Communism did not spread any further. The USA did all she could to

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...itary involvement could potentially resolve the

political crisis in South Korea, and deal with Rhee's problematic

regime. It would give America a genuine reason for keeping her air

bases on Japan, and show the Republican opposition that the Truman

administration was not soft on Communism in Asia. Military involvement

would make the policy of Containment a reality, and crucially, could

secure the funding needed for NSC 68. What's more, because the

USSRwouldn't veto the decision, Truman saw that he could do all this

with UN approval, and thus keep the moral high ground. America did not

get involved in Korea for purely altruistic reasons. For the American

government to be prepared to spend so much money on full-scale

military involvement; there were undoubtedly predicted benefits for

the USA and the Truman administration.