War in Afghanistan vs Korean War

1. The war in
Afghanistan vs the
Korean War
Tomas Paladino

2. The war in Afghanistan

3. The war in Afghanistan
On 11 September 2001 terrorists hijacked four aeroplanes
in the United States. Two were deliberately flown into each
of the Twin Towers in New York, with another hitting the
Pentagon in Virginia.
The total loss of life on 9/11 was nearly 3,000. The
hijackers were members of al-Qaeda, the global Islamist
network founded and led by Osama Bin Laden.

4. The US puts pressure on the Taliban
The Taliban (ruling power in Afghanistan) were accused by the
US of protecting Bin Laden. Taliban requests for negotiations
with the US were rejected and, on 7 October 2001 the US-led
Operation Enduring Freedom began in Afghanistan.
The aim of the Operation was to find Osama Bin Laden, remove
the Taliban from power, and prevent the use of Afghanistan as a
terrorist haven. The US was supported by a broad coalition of
international forces including the Afghan Northern Alliance,
United Kingdom and Canada.
Osama Bin Laden

5. The Taliban fall from power
Kabul fell to coalition forces on 13 October 2001. In early December
fierce fighting took place near the Tora Bora caves, where Taliban
leader Mullah Omar and Osama Bin Laden were believed to be. They
evaded capture and went into hiding.
Kandahar, the last major Taliban stronghold, fell on 7 December 2001,
marking the end of the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan. They were
excluded from the Bonn Agreement that formed a draft constitution for
Afghanistan, and in 2004 Hamid Karzai was elected president.
In 2002 the Taliban began a lengthy period of insurgency in an attempt
to re-establish their power base, as international attention turned to
Iraq, which US-led coalition forces invaded in 2003.
Control of operations switched to NATO's International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF) in 2006. However, US troop numbers
continued to grow, in an attempt to contain the Taliban.
City of Kabul

6. Taliban insurgency
The Taliban insurgency involved increasing use of roadside bombs
and suicide attacks. The numbers of Nato troops in Afghanistan
grew, but this brought little success. As the Taliban fighters
reservoir was “practically limitless".
Although there had initially been broad public support for the war in
Afghanistan in the US and UK, polls showed a falling in confidence
as costs spiralled and casualty numbers rose. What had started as
an operation to remove the Taliban and al-Qaeda had become an
expensive damage limitation and state-building exercise.
On 20 November 2010, NATO announced the withdrawal of
international forces from Afghanistan by 2014. The plan, signed by
Hamid Karzai and the UN's secretary general Ban Ki-moon, would
see control handed to the new Afghan army (ANA) and police force.
NATO

7. NATO countries withdraw their troops
In June 2011 US President Barack Obama announced
that 10,000 US troops would leave Afghanistan by the
end of the year, and an additional 23,000 would leave
by 2012. Canada withdrew all its troops in 2011, and
other Nato countries pledged to reduce their military
presence. UK’s prime minister David Cameron pledged
to end British combat operations in Afghanistan by
2015.
In a covert operation, US Navy SEALs (a special
operations force) and CIA operatives killed Osama Bin
Laden on 2 May 2011, in his residential compound in
Abottabad, Pakistan.
Al-Qaeda swore to avenge Bin Laden's death.
David Cameron and Barack Obama

8. The Korean War

9. The Korean War
In the 1950s, Communism was getting stronger around
the world. In 1949 China, which the usa considered to be
their mainstay in the Far East, became Communist.
Moreover, American spies reported that Stalin was using
the Cominform to help Communists win power in Malaya,
Indonesia, Burma, the Philippines and Korea. The
Americans saw that the Communist countries were
acting together to spread Communism, so when Korea
was invaded in 1950, they intervened.

10. Background
Korea had been ruled by Japan until 1945. When the War was over, the northern half
of Korea was liberated by the Soviets and remained Communist-controlled,while the
southern half was liberated by the US, and remained anti-Communist (for this it won
the US’s support). There was hostility between Kim Il Sung (North’s Communist
leader) and Syngman Rhee (President of South Korea). In 1950, this led to open
warfare. The North Korean overwhelmed the South’s troops, and by September all
but a small corner of south-east Korea was under Communist control.
President Truman immediately sent advisers, supplies and warships. Meanwhile, he
put enormous pressure on the UN Security Council to condemn North Korea’s action
and to call them to withdraw their troops. The USSR had left the UN as a protest for
the US not letting Communist China enter, so it could not use its right of veto to
avoid this. The UN was now committed to using member forces to drive North
Korean troops out of South Korea.
President Truman

11. UN or USA?
Eighteen states (including the UK), provided troops or support, but the largest part of the force sent to Korea was
American. The commander, General MacArthur, was also American.

12. UN or USA?
UN forces attacked Inchon in September 1950. At the same time, other UN forces and South Korean troops advanced
from Pusan. The North Korean were driven back beyond their original border (38th parallel). Even though the UN objective
was achieved, the Americans did not stop. Despite the warnings from Mao Tse-tung (China’s leader) that continuing
would make China join the war, the UN approved a plan to advance into North Korea. By October, US forces had reached
the Yalu river and the border with China. MacArthur and Truman wanted to remove Communism entirely from Korea.
Later in October, 200.000 Chinese troops joined the North Koreans. The UN forces were driven back into South Korea, but
they then recovered and a stalemate was reached around the 38th parallel. MacArthur wanted to continue with the war
and invade China, but Truman felt that saving South Korea was good enough. An attack on China was ruled out by the
UN, as it could bring the USSR into the war. In March 1951, MacArthur ignored the UN instructions and threatened an
attack on China. Truman dismissed him in April, as he rejected his aggressive policy towards Communism. The American
policy was containment.
Peace talks between North and South Korea began in June 1951, but fighting continued until 1952, when Truman was
replaced by Eisenhower, who wanted to end the war. Stalin’s death in March 1953 made the Chinese and North Korean
less confident, and an armistice was signed in July 1953.

13. Was containment the right policy?
There was no doubt in the USA that Communism had to be
resisted, the question was how to do it. Some favoured
MacArthur’s aggressive policy, they felt that containment
was not enough. They wanted the USA to take the fight to
Communists, pushing back its frontiers.
Dulles set up a network of anti-Communist alliances
around the world: South-East Asia Treaty Organisation
(SEATO) in 1954, Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) in
1955. The Soviets felt threatened by them and accused the
US of trying to encircle the Communist world. As a result, in
1955 the Warsaw Treaty Organisation (Warsaw Pact) was
set up between the USSR and all the Communist European
countries, except Yugoslavia.

14. Co-existence
From 1955, the Cold War began to enter a new phase. The new Soviet leader, Nikita
Khrushchev, seemed keen to ease tensions with the US. He met with Western
leaders in 1955 and 1960. However, some Western leaders were still suspicious of
Khrushchev, as they saw his behaviour in Eastern Europe as a constant reminder of
the evils of Communism.
In 1956 there were protests in Poland due to rises in food prices. The Red Army
moved in to restore order.
Also in 1956, the Red Army crashed an anti-Communist in Hungary, killing nearly
30.000 Hungarians.
In August 1961, the Communists built the Berlin Wall, dividing East and West
Berlin.
Nikita Khrushchev

15. Similarities between both conflicts
In both cases, even though other states joined the war alongside the US, the great majority of the troops were
American.
In both cases, the US’ fight was against something greater than the enemy country, in Korea it was against
Communism and in Afghanistan against terrorism.
Both wars generated discontent among the US population: the Korean War because people wanted the US to adopt a
more aggressive policy and the war in Afghanistan because there was much money spent on it and casualties
were rising.
Both conflicts ended with the US and its allies retiring their forces from the country.
Both conflicts had the US involved, even thought it was for different purposes.
The Korean war was more related to Communism and politics, while the war in Afghanistan was related to terrorism
which, in this case, had to do with religion.

16. Differences between both conflicts
In Korea, the US initially entered the conflict to free South Korea from the Communist takeover, while in Afghanistan the
US was the one who invaded, as a response to an attack that it had suffered.
In Korea, the US fighted to prevent Communism from expanding to other countries, while in Afghanistan the war was
against terrorism.
In Korea, the UN was in command, while in the war in Afghanistan it was the USA in the beginning and the NATO later.
Different equipments and technologies were used, as the Korean War happened in 1950 and the war in Afghanistan in
2001.

17. Conclusion
In conclusion, both conflicts share some aspects, but are also different in some others. These would be the purposes
that made the US join each war were different, so were the equipments used, as well as the fact that one conflict had
more to do with politics and the other one with religion.

18. Sources
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/the_war_in_afghanistan
Book