Monday, April 21, 2014

Korea: The Changing Views of War and the American Presidency

NSC-68 was outlined in your optional reading, but not in the excerpt from the IB text, so Secretary Acheson's defense may have been the first you have heard about it. 

In short NSC-68 was a paper written by the UN Security Council that placed the policy of containment at the forefront of foreign policy.  It stated that it was the responsibility of the government to not only 'contain' communism where it lay, but also it should take measures to thwart the potential for Soviet influence on other countries.  NSC-68 justified US intervention in Korea and further solidified the US and the USSR as enemies.

The era after WWII redefined the notion of war and broadened the scope of executive power.  How do you view Truman as not only the spokesperson against communism but also as the conductor--the person who actually commands ideology into action.  How is this a change from earlier presidents?

18 comments:

  1. Overall, i think that Truman did what was best as for the country as a spokesperson against communism. This changes from earlier presidents because Truman was a much more hands on military leader compared to other presidents before him. Also, because he was the spokesperson against communism, the whole world defiantly knew where he stood politically and leadership wise.

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  2. Truman wanted to show that he was not trying to favor the expansion of communism and in fact did everything against communism. The main reason why Truman decided to get into the Korean War was to avoid South Korea of being captured by North Korea and avoid it from being communist as well. He therefore made the right decisions in my opinion and showed how he was a good leader and had a lot of power over the weak situation of the world. He was probably one of the most powerful men on the world by the time of the Cold War and conducted the US army really good since he was the one that fired MacArthur for instance when he was not doing the attacks correctly. I believe as well that as McCarthy started with the persecussion of communists, this gave even more reasons to Truman to show that he was not a communism and did not support that ideology at all in the Korean War. Truman showed by far the best leadership in the US in a long time since presidents before did not really focused their actions into pleasing the Americans as he did. He exactly showed the American values in everything he did and represented the US really good as the leader.

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  3. The Korean War was important in the development of the Cold War, as it showed that the two superpowers, United States and Soviet Union, could fight a "limited war" in a third country. The "limited war" or "proxy war" strategy was a feature of conflicts such as the Vietnam War and the Soviet War in Afghanistan, as well as Angola, Greece, wars in the Middle East.The war scarred both North and South Korea. Both nations suffered massive damage to their economies and infrastructure, as a result of bombings, artillery strikes and loss of skilled workers. I also think President Truman was trying to show that he was not positively advertising the expansion of communism.

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  4. Truman wanted to interfere with communism spreading, and as a spokesperson for the country I think he felt he needed to give the people a sense of security. He did not want communism spreading or any influences of it. As Laura said he also wanted to show that he was not favoring communism whatsoever, instead he was doing the opposite. Truman did everything he could, and took every opportunity that he could in showing the American people he was completely against communism. This compares to previous president's because many did not feel like they had to do this. Previous president's did not give the American people a sense of security.

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  5. McCarthy once claimed that Truman helped the growth of communism because of the Korean War, but actually more opinions were toward to Truman as a president who wanted to make good for the country and not supporting communism. Although he didn't support communism, he was doing diplomacy carefully because he might be doubted as a supporter of communism. Truman found a balance point between diplomacy, politics, and security of the country, which was different from earlier presidents.

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  6. President Truman worked to contain communism and led America into the Korean War. The threat of communism continuously hung over Truman's administration. This is why Truman was a strong spokesperson and also the conductor of movements against communism. As Anni said, Truman wanted to give his people a sense of security against communism. Truman is different from earlier presidents because of all the work he implemented to try and stop the spread of communism.

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  7. President Truman definitely showed a strong anti-communism sentiment as a spokesperson and a conductor. In order to stop the spreading of Communism, Truman instigated military intervention in Korea. This is one of the most significant anti-communism act Truman had done. Truman demonstrated U.S.'s strength as the no.1 power in the world then. In the NSC-68, it is clear that U.S. was preparing militarily against the Soviet Union. The budget for military rose to 50 billion dollars, which shows U.S.'s effort on containing Communism. Truman's strong determination on limiting Communism offers people a sense of security during the Cold War.

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  8. Truman became the spokesperson against Communism and its horrible effects in part because public relations wanted the world to see him as a strong president who not only was able to make definite decisions but able to carry them out as well. In times of conflict it is important to create an aura of strength around our leader so that our enemies don't take advantage of the political gridlocks constant in Washington. This was unlike previous presidents who didn't take as strong a stance against the Commies.

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  9. Well being the president during this time Truman had a lot to deal with. Like everyone has been saying Truman was the spokesperson against communism. He wanted the spread of communism to stop and this is part of the many reasons why he got into the Korean War. He was a lot different from other presidents because he was more involved in the military. He and the rest of the country knew what he believed in and what his opinions were and he did not want communism to spread to America so he did what was necessary.

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  10. Truman helped fight agasint communism and became the spokeperson for everyone that was against it as well. He made it clear to people how terrivle communism was and he actually did stuff about it, he said what he would do and he did it. Many other leaders and previous presidents had not yet taken a stand against communism, and Truman was one of the first,not to mention truman was involved in the military, which helped him to stop communism faster and stronger than previously because he had the military to back him up/defend others.

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  11. truman took a more direct route in foreign politics, he used more cunning, stealthy operations, and basically blunt notions to oppose anti-american activities. most presidents are very cautious, however truman answered every cry for help and fought each and every move the communists tried to employ. this was a much more direct type of presidential behavior.

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  12. Due to the pressure of McCarthyism, President Truman had to be considered an outspoken adversary to Communism in order to avoid McCarthy's accusations. This is what made him a spokesperson against communism. However he was not idle in this campaign. He pursued various policies in order to contain communism and stop its spread. After all, one of the tenets of the Soviet party was Global Revolution, the concept of the working class overthrowing capitalism in every country. So this had to be stopped. This is why Truman pushed NSC-68 which would spend an enormous amount of money on the military for a peaceful period. This was done in order to match the USSR's quickly growing strength.
    This consolidation of executive power differentiated Truman from earlier Presidents because he was not only a spokesperson but he actually battled communism through his actions and not just his words.

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  13. I think there was a reason for Truman taking direction. Presidents had been criticized a lot in the past, but Truman had just been getting hammered about he was dealing with the situation. People kept saying he was soft on communism, and I think that's why he dealt with Korea that way. In order to restore his public image to what it once was, he had to take direct action.

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  14. Truman was the spokes person because of how many people were scared of communism. He needed to to address the citizens concerns, especially considering how hot of a topic communism was. Not just was he forced to comment on communism but he also believed in how serious of an issue it was. That is why he sought after containment policies. Considering the concept of working class above capitalism was the goal of communism, Truman had to take action to prevent changes to the fabric of our democracy. He published this piece to compensate for the growing strength of the USSR. He differed from other presidents being more vocal and ambitious in the attacking of communism.

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  15. I do not think such a president would be pressured by such a senator McCarthy. President Truman was a good spokesperson as well as a conductor. Invading north korea was a huge decision. I think he was very smart in making that move which contained communism well in asia. And he consisted to not to you a-bomb which avoid extra conflict, although it is on the expenses of American people's live. His policy of containing was well done in Korea. Did not create any more conflict. Even under the general's asking, he did not allow MacArthur to attack China which would have been a bad move. Compare to previous president, he is the one who actually attacked communism.

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  16. After McCarthy, fear of communism had become massive throughout the country and therefore, Truman, who was the president of the United States, had to be the spokesperson for the nation. Also, communism spreading through Asia(Korea in perticular) meant that Europe's fall for communism was inevitable. On paper, United States had multiple options. However, nuclear war in reality would not solve problems because United States's air force no longer had a monopoly of atomic weapons. Therefore, It was a hard decision for Truman to make for him to invade North Korea.

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  17. I think Truman as a spokesperson worked very well. The American people needed someone to give them security and who better than the leader of our country. He was also a good conductor because he did the things he said he was going to do to fight communism, not just say them and put them aside. I think he is different than other presidents because he actually implemented thing he said he was going to do.

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  18. Truman was defiantly a strong spokesperson during the cold war. He was an all American anti Communist man, and at that time that was exactly what the people needed. Everyone believed that Communism was bad and they were completely scared of the idea. Truman provided a strong political figure to look up too. I do believe however that he was pressured by McCarthy. McCarthy seemed like the definition of anti communist almost more than Truman. When his followers believed him the most I think even Truman was scared of him.

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