Korean Conflict-
-June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953
-Conflict between Communist North and anti-Communist South Korea
-North invaded South
-United States supported South Korea
-Invasion was a shock
-North Korea overwhelmed South Korea and American forces and drove them to a small area in the South around the city of Pusan
-United Nation troops pushed North Korea back to the border of North Korea and China, and China decided to get involved
-General MacArthur
-Japanese helped US because we paid them for resources and brought a peace treaty
-"The Forgotten War" - fallen between WWII and Vietnam
-North wanted to unite the country with Communism, so they invaded the South
-They invaded because most of our troops had just left South Korea
-We got pushed all the way down to the South, but the United Nations got involved and pushed the North all the way back
-China decided to help the North because they were afraid we were going to attack them
-We were pushed back down the boarder, but we pushed them back up
-Fighting continued along the border for the next few years of the war
-Today we have thousands of troops stationed along the DMZ (Demilitarization Zone)
-They're not fighting still, but there is still a conflict
-North Korea's nuclear weapons is the biggest concern and are one of the five Communist countries in the world today
Vietnam War -
-We never actually declaired war
-Vietnam was known as French Indochina
-US and Vietnam were fighting the Vishy French
-Vietnam was Communist and we didn't like that
-After WWII, Vietnam was split in two (like Korea)
-US first sent military advisors and Green Berets (special operations forces)
-Johnson sent combat forces (1963-ish)
-Congree gives Johnson the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, the power to wage (but not delcare) war and do whatever he wants in Vietnam
-More troops were sent (over half a million)
-Esclation
*-1968 - key year
-Tet Offensive
-Tet - Lunar New Year (holiday)
-Every city in the South (our alli) was attacked by the Communists (North)
-North Vietnam and Viet Cong lost more troops than us
-536,000 troops in Vietnam
-My Lai Massacre - 504 civilians were killed by US soldiers
-Very young or very old people were killed
-Women were raped and bodies were mutilated
-War Protestors
-Draft Dodgers - went to Canada or Sweden, went to college, got married, medically unfit, joined National Gaurd or Peace Crops, claimed to be homosexual, being rich*
-After 1968 we started to pull troops out of the war
-Nixon called for "Vietnamization" - pull our forces out and let the Vietnamize fight it - but didn't do it right away
-Nixon bombed Laos and Cambodia to stop the North Vietnam/Viet Cong supply line, but didn't work because it was a jungle path
-US pulled out of Vietnam in 1973 - "Peace with honor"
-US promised South Vietnam we would help if the North attacked again, but we never did
-All of Vietnam became Communist in 1975
War in Afghanistan -
-World Trade Centers come down, Pentagon gets hit - September 11, 2001
-Went to war in 2001
-Al Quida is responsible - Osama Bin Laden
-Invade Afghanistan because the Taliban is located there and they allowed Al Quida to train there
-Captured Bin Laden in Pakistan
-Pulling troops out
War in Iraq -
-Went to war in 2003 because we thought they had weapons of mass distruction
-They didn't have any but we stayed to get Sadam Hussein
-Sadam Hussein was caught, put on trail by Iraqi people, and put to death
-Established democratic government
-Combat troops were pulled out in August 2010, so we only have advisers there
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