The Forgotten Lesson of ”the Forgotten War”

The terrible conflict in Korea sixty years ago is properly described as “the Forgotten War.” Especially lost to memory is the strategic mistake many experts believe precipitated South Korea’s invasion by the North. We may be poised to make an equally fraught mistake in our time.

In 1950, then-Secretary of State Dean Acheson publicly drew a line describing America’s critical interests in Asia that excluded South Korea. Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin concluded that his puppet in Pyongyang, Kim Il-sung, could seize the entire Korean peninsula with impunity. The rest as they say is history, however poorly it is recalled. 

Today, North Korea is promoting a peace agreement formally ending the Forgotten War. Unfortunately, as we discuss in a powerful new television series called “Issues Alive” rolling out today, this diplomatic gambit may produce another invasion of the South – and Korean War 2.0.

This is Frank Gaffney.