Thesis
Many individuals argue that the nuclear weapons developed during the nuclear age are critical. They base the weapon’s importance on the fact that they can be used in deterring war between countries that are in conflict. However, critics argue that this is not the case. The Korean War is a proof that some of the assumptions of the nuclear age were wrong.
1. The View that only nuclear weapons could be used to deter war and bring justice to conflicting countries
A. The Soviet leader called Joseph Sterling supported the North Korean army in 1950 for them to attack South Korean.
B. Following the attack of the North Koreans to the South Koreans, the United Nations felt the need to preserve the South Koreans. Besides, vacating the North Koreans from the South, Mac Arthur’s army managed to cross the 38th parallel and attacked the North ending the war on date 24 in December (Vaidyanatha, 2016).
C. No nuclear weapons were used during that war. The possession of nuclear weapons did not prevent conflicts.
2. The view that only the countries with nuclear weapons could win in war
A. Despite some countries possessing nuclear weapons, what brought peace between all the countries is the agreement that was entered by the three nations participating in the conflict.
B. The experience of the Korean War showed that having nuclear weapons would not deter other countries from conflicting.
The Korean War represented a turning point in the history of the world. The Korean War broke out in the 1950 when the 38th parallel was crossed by the North Korean troops in their attempt to invade South Korea (Paret, Craig & Gilbert, 1986). The attack was launched by the North Korean leader who had been promised support by the Soviet Union leader, Joseph Stalin. During this period, there was a belief that only nuclear weapons could be used to bring justice. However, according to what happened during the Korean War, it was evident that the use of nuclear weapons would be detrimental, as their use would be dangerous in the course of war. In the end, only diplomacy stopped the war.
The view that nuclear weapons could only deter war was profoundly challenged during the Korean War. The Korean War passed went through many stages, with each escalating the conflict. First, the North Koreans attacked the South Koreans in 1950.Within the first three days, South Korea was under threat of being overrun by North Korea after the fall of Seoul. The United States President, Harry Truman, knew the importance of preserving South Korea and he sent ground soldiers to the South and, of course, they were not using nuclear weapons. Besides removing North Koreans from the South, Mac Arthur’s Army managed to cross the 38th parallel and attack the North, ending the war on date 24 in December (Vaidyanatha, 2016).
Following the fall of the North Korea, the Chinese were provoked and decided to enter the war. Their forces began the first counteroffensive on 26 November, and that enabled them to push the back the American army behind the 38th parallel. The war’s major battles went off at the beginning of the first year. However, the ‘bloody war’ continued for a long period without major offensives on both. This bloody conflict led to the loss of lives of many soldiers on both sides: the United States and the Chinese.
After a period of three years of the frustrating and bloody conflict, South Korea, North Korea, China, and the United States came into an armistice agreement of terminating the Korean War. The first experiment of the Americans with the concept of the ‘limited war’ was now brought to an end by this armistice.
References
Paret, P., Craig, G. A., & Gilbert, F. (1986). Makers of modern strategy: From Machiavelli to the nuclear age. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.
Vaidyanatha, G. (2016). Introduction. Jnu-matrix.tripod.com. Retrieved 8 March 2016, from http://jnu-matrix.tripod.com/conv-war.html
