Parallel to Ukraine is not in World War II – it is Korea

The Russian invasion of Ukraine reveals that World War II is still looming on our American imagination.

“Good war” if there is ever, many commentators compare this campaign of civilizational acts against Nazi terrorism by defending Ukraine. They see that Russian President Vladimir Putin is the second coming of Adolf Hitler and Ukrainian President Voludmir Zelinski in the role of Winston Churchill another.

However, American history provides a much better parallel to the situation in Ukraine – the Korean War.

Sometimes it is called the “forgotten war”, the conflict began in Korea 75 years ago in June. It is very similar to Ukraine, South Korea has been invaded without provoking its armed neighbor better with an excuse for a nation. The South Korean government, an incomplete democracy, has received support from all over the free world, but mainly from the United States

North Korea, dictatorship, depends primarily on the support of Communist China. After the dramatic developments in the first few months of the war, the fighting settled on a dead end witnessed huge losses, as the two sides poured the soldiers in what was called the “meat river”. Ultimately, more than 36,000 Americans died to contain communism and maintain free Korea.

Some Americans preferred to break this impasse and the conflict escalated significantly, but President Harry Truman felt that he could turn to World War III and limit our options. After three years of fighting, the newly opened president, the newly opened president, managed to knew the real costs of the war-to secure the ceasefire, where the two sides agreed to preserve the region that occupied them and created a mine area between them.

No one, Eisenhower, was accused of expressing the North Korean dictator Kim Il, who sang it for the fire.

Supporters of President Trump’s plans to Ukraine can argue that he follows the footsteps of his predecessors by seeking to avoid direct conflict with a nuclear superpower. Trump, like Truman and Eisenhower, accepts the practical limits of the type of peace he can secure. His opponents do not seem to provide alternatives other than constant stalemate or reckless escalation.

The Americans were skeptical of placing shoes on the ground, sacrificing their sons and daughters to liberate each last inch of Ukrainian lands. Instead, they appreciate that the ceasefire will give Ukraine an opportunity to start recovering. American investments in Ukraine, such as the promised in the proposed Trump deal of metal rights, can lead Ukraine to the levels of South Korean prosperity.

Trump’s critics may argue that South Korea’s recovery can only happen under US security guarantee – a major request from Zelinski. They may forget that the 1953 mutual defense agreement with South Korea has not been ratified only months after the ceasefire that ended the actual fighting. They may also ignore that in 1953, the United States had only the military ability to protect South Korea, while there are European countries that are able today to this task.

Those who seek to deploy American forces as peace protection in Ukraine, to deter in the future Russian aggression, must do more to persuade skeptics of such necessity.

The Korean war brought a new era of permanent military mobilization in the United States, soldiers and women are ready to defend the interests of our nation at any hour, anywhere in the world, and deserve our gratitude. However, when he left his post after years, President Eisenhower warned us of what he called the serious effects of this condition.

The possibility that the military industrial complex may be an unjustified influence over our government, and may lead us to unnecessary and disastrous disputes. Those who demand more assistance to Ukraine must guarantee skeptics that they accept the boundaries of American interests there.

Seventy -five years after the launch of the first shots across its borders, North and South Korea did not sign after an official peace treaty. The hostility between Russia and Ukraine may continue for a longer period, but it seems that the end of the fighting now is a basic step towards achieving this goal.

The Korean War, not the Second World War, must be the template of Ukraine to end this tragedy.

Patrick McCurcmak is an old warrior of the National Guard of the Army and a teacher of modern American history. Commenting on military and international affairs.