Chapter 3 Introduction "A Bitter Little War"

"A bitter little war," Averell Harriman, the ageless veteran of American politics, said of it.President Harry Truman doggedly insisted that it was nothing more than a "police operation," insisting on this exasperating play on words even as U.S. casualties passed the 50,000 mark.The Republicans called it "the foreign policy folly of the century" and used it as a trump card to end the Democratic Party's 20-year rule of the White House. "Honestly, it was a military disaster," said Gen. Omar Bradley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "It was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong enemy. A wrong war."

The Korean War (let's call it what it is) was the culmination of all the above, and it was also a turning point in US military and diplomatic strategy after World War II, marking the first time the US tried to stop communism by resorting to force military expansion.The Korean War was the first step on a long road of such adventures.In fact, just two months into the Korean War, the United States sent the first batch of military aid to the French in Indochina, who were fighting an uprising that turned into the Vietnam War.No matter what the outcome is, in the next 10 years, the United States will invest more and more of its national resources, plus its reputation and reputation, in Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America.The Korean War was the beginning of the United States' attempt to dominate the world with its powerful military power.In order to maintain this power, even in the "peaceful years", it will consume half of the annual budget of the United States federal government and keep countless sons and daughters of the United States at war in the most remote places in the world.

Yet the Korean War was one of America's many less pleasant experiences: when it was over, most Americans were eager to wipe it from the crevices of memory.For some reason, the Korean War was the first American war without a triumphant squad.The United States has kept North Korea in a stalemate with China, a large and backward Asian country.Although the United States has used all weapons except the atomic bomb, China has overwhelmed the United States' immense technological might with its human wave tactics and ingenious manipulation of international politics.The atomic weapons that brought the Japanese to surrender in 1945 were banned, and field commanders could not "fight the war to the enemy's (referring to China) homeland." The Korean War shattered the American dream that atomic weapons made infantry obsolete.As far as politics is concerned, world opinion will not support the use of such abominable weapons.From a military point of view, the atomic bomb is not worth the loss when used against infantry scattered hundreds of miles in the mountains.In fact, when the Korean War began, the so-called "nuclear umbrella" of the United States consisted of only four atomic bombs.Washington strategists probably wisely decided that these atomic bombs should be kept as the decisive trump card in the war with the Soviet Union.

In the eyes of the American public, the Korean War was unpopular because it affected the postwar economic prosperity.From 1945 to 1950, that is, from the surrender of Japan to the beginning of the Korean War, although the United States still had some small economic and political turmoil, it was indeed one of the most comfortable times in American history.With the end of the Great Depression, Americans were full of hope to buy cars and play ball games, and they were no longer willing to worry about heavy national affairs.As a result, the United States did not instinctively rise to defend its own flag, especially by 1952 and 1953, when the Korean War was reduced to a dull and ridiculous-looking battle in which both sides fought over and over over the same few hills.Even seeing in the newspapers hundreds of American soldiers killed at places like "Sorrow Ridge" and "No Name Heights" did not galvanize public support for the war. In 1952, shortly after I graduated from high school, in martial-spirited Texas, during a beer-drinking discussion, a classmate summed up the attitude of those of us who were recruiting age. "Boys," he said, "there are two things we should avoid—North Korea and gonorrhea."

"The Korean War: The Untold Truth" attempts to reveal how the United States got involved in the conflict and how military and civilian leaders made decisions afterwards.The plot of this book is not exciting, because for most of the war years, the United States suffered under the leadership of a bunch of mediocre people.Of this bunch of dunces (the statement is strong, but the facts back it up), President Truman and his Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, are the most typical.Their strength of will was often under pressure transformed into sheer obstinacy, and they suffered as much from it as the nation did from it. In June 1950, after North Korea swung into South Korea, Truman and Acheson threw the United States into a war within four days, for which the U.S. military was unprepared, and in fact they had been told and did not There is no need to fight this battle.In those frenetic days of summer, Truman and Acheson "stopped" the Communist invasion.They believed that the "real enemy" was the Soviet Union (although they never said so publicly, in order to give Moscow a chance to save face and not intervene in the war), and they felt that they had completely overwhelmed the most powerful opponent of the United States.By October 1950, the intervention appeared to be complete, the North Koreans had been driven back by an army (albeit mostly American) flying the UN flag, and Truman and Acheson were proud of their savvy contented.

Then the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse. In November and December 1950, the Chinese, far more formidable foes than the North Koreans, intervened.During those desperate weeks, the United Nations Army was in danger of being driven from the Korean peninsula, with divisions trapped in the mountains in minus 30 degrees Celsius; only because Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway It was the superhuman efforts of an obscure war hero that held the army steady and halted the Chinese advance.At this time, Truman and Acheson hastily downgraded their "show of American will" actions and set various restrictions on the war, thus making victory completely hopeless.By the time they realized that it would take two years for the United States to have the ability to directly challenge the Soviet Union, it was already too late.Therefore, the Korean War was redefined as a regional war, which had to be confined to the Korean peninsula.

The recklessness of Truman's and Acheson's ventures, and their sloppiness and understatement in selling their reasons to the American people, was on display most clearly in their attempt to end the war with an armistice in late 1952.The stated reason for the intervention by the United States was to preserve the integrity and independence of the Republic of Korea (which is the official name of the South Korean government), but these conditions failed to satisfy the President of the Republic of Korea, Syngman Rhee.The elderly and eccentric nationalist first appealed to President Theodore Roosevelt for Korean independence as early as 1905.Syngman Rhee believed that he would be put in danger of future communist invasion, and he was unwilling to give up his half-century struggle under this condition.He felt that Truman and Acheson would sacrifice him to save the United States from a war that had gone astray, and rejected the terms of the armistice.

As a result, the National Security Council of the United States is ready to find another way.If Syngman Rhee refused to accept the truce, the CIA would stage a coup to oust him and replace him with a possibly more docile military junta.If Syngman Rhee continues to resist, he will be "eliminated". At one of the harsher moments in the Vietnam War, a young U.S. Army officer told a television reporter: "We have to destroy that village in order to save it." The man was talking about a village ; Truman and Acheson were to destroy an entire government, thus "saving it".Fortunately for the United States, the proposal to kill the recalcitrant Rhee, despite the bureaucratic red tape, was never approved by the NSC and President Truman.This suggestion had to be shelved.

When Truman-Acheson decided to intervene in the Korean War, it was a fight for honor.The regime of North Korea, a satellite state of the Soviet Union, the sworn enemy of the United States, brazenly invaded the Republic of Korea.North Korea (and its Soviet "mentor") had the opportunity to hold general elections under UN supervision to create a unified and independent Korea.In flagrant defiance of the United Nations, North Koreans have chosen the bullet over the ballot box. However, to evaluate national leaders, we must look at their behavior and investigate their motives.Truman and Acheson aimed to build the argument that the international order could not be contemptuous or harmed.Their assumption from the start was that the Soviet Union was responsible for the war and that they were using a proxy to test the will of the United States.This theory of Soviet complicity requires only circumstantial evidence, which abounds.The Soviets armed the North Koreans to the teeth: tanks, attack aircraft, self-propelled artillery, all military equipment for offense, not defense; more than 3,000 Soviet advisers worked closely with the North Korean People's Army; The Soviets supported the North Koreans politically, at the United Nations and elsewhere.Throughout, however, Truman and Acheson avoided directly blaming the Soviet Union as the real culprit in the war.This was a misstep, and it essentially confirmed the Soviet point of view: the Soviet Union could use its satellites to poke the weak spots of the United States without fear of provoking direct American retaliation.This is the fundamental mistake of Truman-Acheson in North Korea policy.

So, who was it that dragged us into the Korean War?Most responsible are Truman and Acheson.This is the most incredible political pairing, the two of them act in unison and in perfect harmony.Truman's dress, speech and manners are in the small-town "Rotary International" style, and Acheson, who is paired with him, is luxurious and elegant, with a shaggy beard, and his demeanor, manners, and accent are enough to play an English Lord.Truman's strength lies in an intuitive intelligence and the determination to fight independently and never give up until he reaches his goal; although he is not from a major, he is probably the most profound about history among the previous presidents of the United States except Woodrow Wilson. One who understands.The problem with Truman was that no one took him seriously.Thus, when Truman defeated Republican Thomas Dewey in 1948, it produced the most shocking upset in American political life.Truman was no longer the short-sighted, incompetent Midwestern men's clothing store owner who had made his fortune in corrupt Missouri clique politics.Now the "accidental president" is in power and with a unique sense of confidence, because the man in his sixtieth year is finally relieved of the burden of convincing others of his worth. After 1948, Harry Truman was not plagued by self-doubt; he trusted his instincts, and when he made major decisions, such as intervening in North Korea, he acted with agility, almost out of compulsion.Act first, discuss consequences later.

Truman's confidence was that of a man who had overcome years of feeling humbled and humbled.In contrast, Dean Acheson's confidence seems to be innate.Acheson graduated from Groton High School and Yale University, and was a student of Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.He's brilliant, almost astounding. In 1950, at the age of 57, he was a partner of the most famous Covington-Berlin law firm in Washington, and served as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury under Roosevelt, and served in the State Department from 1941 to 1947. high position.Acheson's strength lies in his ability to manage the intricate relationship between, for example, foreign and monetary policy.An official in the Truman administration said of Acheson: "The Dean (as he was nicknamed) could have been Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury at the same time." In January 1949, Truman returned Acheson to the administration as Secretary of State.Though well versed in domestic politics, Truman realized he needed expert advice on foreign affairs.The time is ripe for a man with a European eye for the job.The Marshall Plan, which began in 1947, was flooding Europe with economic aid, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, established in 1949, was fighting the Soviet Union's expansion that had toppled Czechoslovakia.Acheson knew Europe and was loyal to Truman.He often said to his colleagues at the State Department: "I have only one electorate to whom I am responsible, and that is President Truman." Of course, Acheson also has shortcomings.His utter self-confidence often turns his ingenuity into arrogance, a man who never knew the meaning of modesty or when to keep his mouth shut.He would rather speak harshly to his opponents than to comfort him, and the support of these people is actually extremely beneficial to him.In a secret congressional hearing, he drove Sen. Kenneth Wheley into a rage, the Nebraska Republican rushed across the table and pumped his fist while Acheson threw his arms back. With color, the situation later returned to calm.As a result, Acheson had few friends in Washington, even in the White House.Except, of course, Harry Truman. In 1950, Acheson also had political problems.Republican opponents held him largely responsible for "losing" China to the Communist regime, which had ousted Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government the year before.They accused Acheson of publishing a voluminous white paper on U.S.-China relations, in which Chiang Kai-shek was dismissed as corrupt, incompetent, and hopeless.Republicans said the document added to the "Generalissimo's" downfall.Then, in early 1950, Acheson said that he had no intention of "turning his back" on Alger Hiss, which was kind but politically ill-advised.Hiss, his longtime friend, was a State Department official who had been convicted of perjury in an investigation into alleged Soviet spies.Thus, in June 1950, Truman and Acheson were fiercely criticized by the Republican Party for being "soft on the Communist Party" and for allowing the largest country in Asia to fall into Communist hands. One institution used to deter the executive from acting impulsively in times of military crisis is the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the uniformed military chiefs who are effectively the president's top military advisers.From day one of the Korean War, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been largely responsible for the war's blunders. In 1949, the Joint Chiefs of Staff dismissed South Korea as an area of ​​"little strategic value" to the United States after extensively studying how to deploy the limited U.S. military power around the world.The occupying forces there should be withdrawn, and the United States should not participate in the defense should North Korea invade.Acheson's State Department, as well as the National Security Council and Truman agreed. By June 1950, when Acheson persuaded Truman to overturn the established national policy and intervene in the Korean War, the Joint Chiefs of Staff just stood by.They simply failed to warn the president that he was giving a mission that the military was not ready to execute. Later, even more frustratingly, the Joint Chiefs of Staff lost control of the American field commander in the war, General Douglas MacArthur.They allowed him to disobey the military order in spirit, if not in letter.They risked letting him lead the army, even if his formation put the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers in danger.They treated him not as an inferior, but as a surly, naughty child who had to be coaxed and cajoled into obedience.Allowing these intolerable things to happen is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Omar Bradley, who commanded a 1.3 million-strong ground force in Europe in World War II, an American Largest force ever commanded by a general.But Bradley is still difficult to control MacArthur."He treated us like we were a bunch of little kids," Bradley lamented at one point. MacArthur was certainly not an ordinary field general. MacArthur was 70 years old in 1950. This senior general of the U.S. Army is the most irritatingly complex figure the U.S. Army has ever created. between the lines.MacArthur's flamboyant theatrics ("He could have been another John Barrymore," said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Lawton Collins) drew either adulation or contempt from those around him.His immense self-awareness allowed no suggestion that he could be wrong in anything, at any time.His messianic eloquence overwhelmed doubters, who followed him and fell into his grasp.He was awarded 13 medals (including a Medal of Honor) for bravery.He seems to be deliberately mocking death at times, or conversely, he has a sense of immortality, feeling that he can be exposed to enemy fire without harm. (Nevertheless, the Marines who fought in the Pacific theater he once commanded derided him as "burrowing Doug" — an absent commander whose presence was only for photographers, not for The real battle. The nickname doesn't do it justice.) But for the U.S. Army, Douglas MacArthur was unique.He's a big star, he's been honored and held everything from West Point cum laude to chief of staff.From 1945 to 1951, after victory in the Pacific War, MacArthur, as governor, rebuilt shattered Japan into a democracy.MacArthur was so devoted to his responsibilities in Japan (so he put it) that he didn't even return to the United States after the war for the traditional heroic triumph.He hasn't returned to his hometown for 13 years, but it doesn't matter, he still sticks to his position.As a result, he appears in the eyes of the American public as an almost mythical figure, his true self magnified by his remoteness. Beneath MacArthur's veneer of ego and fortitude, however, was an unfathomable mass of self-doubt and self-abuse.What makes MacArthur restless is his overly doting mother, Pinkie MacArthur, whom all the evidence clearly proves to be stupid.She felt her husband, a Civil War general and hero, had been under-represented (despite his many accolades, including the Medal of Honor).She'd been messing with the Army on behalf of her husband for years, until the poor guy died.She then turned her affections on "Little Douglas," first helping him win a commission to West Point, and then following him to West Point (she lived on campus in the Taylor Hotel, and his dormitory was within sight of her. Inside).Throughout his career, she harassed and prodded him to "achieve more", wrote to senior officials urging his promotion, followed him step by step from one dull job to the next. At one point in the 1920s, MacArthur tried to get rid of her by marrying a slender divorcee from coffeehouse society, who almost succeeded in persuading MacArthur to leave the army and join banking.MacArthur's mother refused to attend their wedding.When gossip columnists reported that MacArthur's wife continued her carnival social life (with other men) while he was living overseas, MacArthur hurried to divorce court. This was in 1929, and this scene stung MacArthur.It is only because of journalistic taste and the Defamation Act that this much-vaunted general has not been publicly revealed as a cuckold and jilted husband. How can a commander lead an army if he cannot keep his family together?Another blow to his arrogance came in 1932.At that time, MacArthur put on a full set of combat uniforms and commanded troops and tanks to march towards the destitute veterans.The veterans gathered in Washington to demand their retirement compensation, and MacArthur was ordered to drive them out of the pitiful camp.MacArthur found the task annoying, but he followed orders.He was ridiculed by the media as a rogue thug who went to beat up the brothers he had commanded in France. For this reason, MacArthur retreated from the rivers and lakes.As Army chief of staff, he had an elegant residence at Fort Meyer in the leafy Virginia countryside across the Potomac from Washington.But now MacArthur longed for privacy, not the goldfish-bowl life of a military post.He had some special fun on his mind. Under the arrangement of a trusted lieutenant, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Jefferson Davis, he rented an apartment on Corollama Road in Northwest Washington, a retreat known only to a few close friends.MacArthur entertained batch after batch of prostitutes here, sometimes two or three or even four at a time, but he was only as an admiring, superior man, not a sexual partner.In his memoirs of his days with MacArthur, Davis says: What he thought of as happy hour was bringing them in for an evening.He never fucked them, he just sat in an easy chair and made the girls marvel at what a great guy he was. He also has a sadistic streak.We would go to a brothel in Baltimore, and MacArthur would pick an outstanding prostitute and treat her very well—taking her to dinner, reciting poems, buying her flowers, holding her in a daze, treating her Fascinated.And the first time she utters some stressful words, as if to get something permanent from him, he'll call her a "little whore" and walk away.He would also laugh at her on the drive back to Washington. Another eccentricity of MacArthur is very serious.Many nights, he called Davis into the living room.He sat, with a loaded revolver in his hand, and narrated the untold hardships of being one of America's finest soldiers.In the eyes of his fellow officers and the American public, he is the pride of the American military, but does he really deserve the recognition?In the hours before dawn, MacArthur would ruefully declare that he was a half-titled hero, only because his mother insisted that he become "a glorious Apollo, Rowland, and George Washington all rolled into one."He felt that he was overrated both as a person and as a general.He is afraid that at some point in his life he will face a test that he cannot overcome, and then fail.But a death at a time and a manner of his own choosing—here he sometimes pointed a pistol to his temple—would save him the shame of failure and bring him peace of mind. Davis' role was to persuade MacArthur to put his pistol down and to say that he was such a valuable soldier that the country could not live without him.MacArthur would go on to say he was "comfortable and relieved" to die in the company of such a close friend, but he agreed to put the gun down.Throughout the 1930s, he kept re-enacting the scene. The only time Davis didn't speak his lines correctly was when the two officers were on a train across the American South bound for Washington.MacArthur slammed on the door of Davis' private room, again holding a pistol. "We're getting close to where my dad got the Medal of Honor," MacArthur told Davis. "I'm in the Army, I'm in life, I've done my job, and I'm at the end of my term as chief of staff. When we go through Tennessee River bridge, I'm going to jump off the train. This is where my life ends, Davis." "General," Davis replied, "then please get over this quickly so I can go back to sleep." MacArthur slammed the door of the private room.The next morning, he apologized for being "excessively emotional".His mother, Pinkie MacArthur, died shortly thereafter, and Davis never heard threats of suicide again. However, those strange scenes that Lieutenant Colonel Davis saw are quite related to the Korean War period, and MacArthur also showed some eccentricities of his personality at a critical turning point in this conflict.Reading the dozens of wartime telegrams he sent to the Joint Chiefs of Staff—most of which have not been published before—one can get the sense that he was a man out of touch: he wanted every victory on the battlefield to be To himself, the failures were all through no fault of his; every telegram he sent came with a condition attached, "give me what I want, or you will bear the consequences (referring to American casualties)".The Joint Chiefs of Staff files offer a more to-the-point explanation of MacArthur's actions: What he lost was not Sensible, but gutsy, the military's favorite generation terrified at the brink of public defeat that he had always dreaded. MacArthur's response was to try to excuse himself.He asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to allow a dramatic escalation of the war, including the blockade and bombing of mainland China, and he wanted to create a "radioactive waste belt" along the south bank of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China's "Manchuria."In private conversations, he also talked about something more substantive: a nuclear attack on China.If these attacks lead to a war with Russia, so be it.MacArthur did not want to fight a ground war in Asia; because a confrontation with the Chinese navy had taught him the necessary lesson.However, if the Soviets really started the Korean War (as the U.S. intelligence community and the diplomatic community agree), then the Soviets should pay the price.Unfortunately for MacArthur (as we shall see), he revealed these insights to Spanish and Portuguese diplomats in Tokyo, who, as usual, reported to their governments.The NSA routinely intercepted and deciphered such diplomatic cables and sent them to Truman immediately.MacArthur had already been at odds with the president over his public remarks critical of the administration's Asia policy; this, combined with direct evidence of now more serious treason, had MacArthur dismissed by Truman within a week (certainly for security and diplomatic reasons. Politely, Truman cannot mention the NSA intercept). The "Firing of MacArthur" was a political sensation of our time, a harrowing and confusing episode for the American public that shattered national unity and prevented peace for two years. However, MacArthur had no regrets when he left office. He firmly believed that he had not done anything beyond the boundaries of professional soldiers.He also confided to his successor, General Matthew Ridgway, that President Truman's mental illness may have contributed to his removal from office.MacArthur spoke to Ridgway the day after his dismissal, claiming to have learned from a "distinguished medical person" that Truman suffered from a disease called "malignant hypertension."MacArthur went on to say that this painful condition is "characterized by confusion and confusion of the mind."MacArthur accused Truman of being hot-tempered, such as when he wrote a vile letter to a Washington Post music critic who criticized a concert given by Truman's daughter Margaret. (Ridgway listened to MacArthur and understood that a mentally ill person is not the president.) War is essentially a fraudulent act, and the Korean War naturally has many secrets.During the four years of research that led to the creation of this book, many secrets have come to light.The records of this war are mixed with flaws and beauty, and beauty and beauty coexist: ——The nascent CIA was fortunate to conduct field activities during the war, planning all kinds of ghost ideas to torture the Chinese.One such operation was the hijacking of a hospital ship bound for China on the high seas, just as an epidemic was killing thousands of Chinese soldiers.The ship is flying the flag of Norway, which has long maintained friendly relations with the United States.Unbeknownst to the Norwegians, the "Chinese pirates" who captured the ship north of Taiwan were hired and directed by a CIA agent. -- At a frustrating time for the United States to consider abandoning the war, the Joint Chiefs of Staff approved a contingency plan to relocate the South Korean government and military, including 600,000 dependents, to a so-called "new war" in American Samoa. Korea".The Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the climate is suitable for farming and that most of the island is uninhabited, and that the Koreans would "probably" adapt to the new environment.However, the plan was never discussed with any South Korean officials "for fear of causing public discontent". —Despite President Truman's frequent public assurances against the use of atomic weapons in North Korea, in December 1950 an unassembled atomic bomb was quietly transported to an American aircraft carrier moored off the Korean peninsula.U.S. aircraft also carried out a mock nuclear attack on the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, as part of contingency plans to fight an atomic war. —Truman’s diary, which shows that he is more aggressive in private, has angry scribbles that read like lunatic mail the newspaper receives. In January 1952, Truman, annoyed by the intransigence of the North Koreans and Chinese in the armistice negotiations, wrote: Dealing with the communist government is like an honest man trying to make a deal with a gambling king or a gang leader.I think the right thing to do right now is an ultimatum with a 10-day deadline, telling Moscow that we are ready to blockade the Chinese coast from the Korean border to Indochina, that we are ready to destroy every military base in "Manchuria" by any means possible, Including submarine bases.Should there be further interference, we will destroy any port or city if necessary to achieve our peaceful goals. Truman was aware of the possible consequences: This means total war.This means that Moscow, St. Petersburg (called Leningrad in 1952), Shenyang, Vladivostok (Vladivostok), Beijing, Shanghai, Lushun, Dalian, Odessa, Stalingrad, and every country in China and the Soviet Union All factories will be destroyed.This was the last chance for the Soviet government to decide whether it wanted to survive. Five months later, Truman was furious again, repeating his old story.This time, he posed a series of questions to the Soviet leader that no one else had to answer: "Now, are you willing to end your operations in Korea, or are you ready to have China and Siberia destroyed? It's your choice, either... …accept our fair and reasonable proposal or be totally destroyed.” Although Truman never took any action to implement these personal ideas, they revealed his inner world about the deployment of nuclear weapons. But under the Eisenhower administration, the use of nuclear weapons was close to reality. On May 20, 1953, the National Security Council discussed what must be done if the Communists did not accept reasonable peace terms.The committee decided on air and sea operations "against China and 'Manchuria'," which included the "strategic and tactical widespread use of atomic bombs."The major escalation, which will begin with a naval blockade of Chinese ports and gradually expand to nuclear bombing, is aimed at "maximizing surprise and psychological impact".Warned by oblique warnings of such American intentions, the Chinese quickly decided to end the war, and an armistice was signed within a month. This “bitter little war”—to borrow Avril Harriman’s phrase again—almost turned into a nuclear war for the United States. In July 1953, with the armistice, the fighting ended and North Korea remained a divided country.Now, after nearly 30 years, representatives of the two North Koreas (accompanying the South Koreans by American military officers) hold a formal meeting every month or so in a neutral area.The ostensible reason is to seek a common ground for peace, but in fact the two sides say nothing, except for occasional recriminations.Kim Il Sung, still North Korea's dictator, has occasionally made strong statements about his attempt to retake South Korea by force, as he tried to do in 1950.South Korea has replaced dictators, presidents and political strongmen one by one like a lantern, imprisoned dissidents and scoffed at any mention of reconciliation with North Korea.About 40,000 U.S. soldiers still serve there as a sort of security defense against any North Korean aggression.The new generation of American soldiers is constantly asking, "What am I doing in this lonely little part of the world?" That's the question many Americans have been asking since the war began in June 1950.