Remember your NSC reports!

NSC 68: The reason we're all here (ish).

NSC 81: The public report on compromises that pleased everyone and meant nothing. Especially no mention of the Chinese...

NSC 73: The secret report which imagined Chinese involvement.

NSC 76: The report which confirmed that the Soviets would never get involved.

Episode 35: Up In Flames examines that pivotal moment in the history of the Korean War, when General MacArthur finally got the chance to achieve his greatest triumph at Inchon. The build-up to this event and the circumstances which surrounded it were far from conventional as we have seen, since the war plans of the Soviets, Chinese and Americans all relied on MacArthur achieving a great success for their own reasons, yet the triumph at Inchon was an unmistakable victory for the grizzled General and his unflinching attitude towards the communists. Might, it seemed, had indeed made right.

Under the surface of this great success, the political and strategic interests of Washington were still being considered. The NSC had been busy creating some new policy approaches, one which dealt with Chinese intervention, NSC 73, and another which dealt with a World War 3 scenario of Soviet involvement in NSC 76. Both of these plans were top secret, and they were drawn up in response to the unpredictable stance of Moscow and Beijing. Washington kept its true ambitions a secret from its allies and enemies, and forged ahead with NSC 81, a compromise filled document which pleased the allies, but which, on the surface, solved few problems. 

What was more, while the situation in Korea moved towards Inchon, American leaders strengthened their hand in Europe by empowering the West German government, and securing that flank of the European common defence perimeter. All hands were now dedicated to defending against communism, a necessary exercise thanks to the example given by Korea. For the British, and especially for the French fighting the communist Vietminh, the increasing activism of communism illuminated the importance of bringing their old foes into the struggle. In the midst of further warnings from Beijing, MacArthur pushed forward past Seoul and onto the 38th parallel in late September, bypassing the objections of allies and the resolutions from the Indians. The moment of truth was approaching fast.

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Music used:

“Everybody Loves My Fanny” by Benny Bell, another wonderful double entendre song since you all enjoyed Shaving Cream so much. Benny’s collection can be found at: https://archive.org/details/BennyBell

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