Korean War #13: A Useful Bombshell (Patreon)

Episode 13: A Useful Bombshell examines the immediate reactions to the Sino-Soviet Alliance in the US. Now that their wedge strategy had been torpedoed, and the Truman administration had failed to save China again, the question remained as to what Dean Acheson could do next. Under pressure from foreign and domestic critics, it was imperative that something was done to reverse these negative trends, and get some kind of a win for American foreign policy.

If you've been paying attention so far, you'll know that THIS is the moment in our story when our coverage really diverges away from the mainstream version of what happened, but bear with me, because we certainly aren't being 'alt' for no reason!

The version of the KW which I plan to present in this series is this: far from twiddling its thumbs and living in blissful ignorance of the threat to Korea and Taiwan, Acheson and some newly installed, more hardline colleagues determined that Korea could have some real value as a piece of bait. This bait could draw first the North Koreans and then the Chinese in, while Taiwan would be secured, a new frontline against communism would be drawn in Asia, and, most importantly of all, Washington would wrest approval in these desperate times for a manifold explosion in its defence budget, from $15 billion to $70 billion, as we have seen.

"No people in history have preserved their freedom who thought that by not being strong enough to protect themselves they might prove inoffensive to their enemies." Such was the opinion of NSC68, our boo for this series, and the key to understanding why the US pursued the foreign policy that it did. Having tried and failed to disarm the Soviet capabilities through diplomacy, plan B looked to contain the Sino-Soviet bloc, although it was tacitly acknowledged that to bluff the Soviets from a position of weakness would be a recipe for disaster.

NSC68 did not mean war with the Soviets - it meant the creation of a military industrial complex that would enable Washington to contain communism, and peacefully dictate to Moscow from a position of strength. Episode 13's useful bombshell was thus that Sino-Soviet alliance, because without it, the Truman administration could never have turned American fortunes around as they did, and the US may well never have emerged as the supreme military power in the Cold War. This, and some other musings, are our episode 13, so I hope you enjoy it!