The Korean War Quotes

“Eventually the Korean War will be understood as one of the most destructive and one of the most important wars of the twentieth century.”
― Bruce Cumings, The Korean War: A History

“Those who suffer terrible wars have a finer sense of when they begin and when they end.”
― Bruce Cumings, The Korean War: A History

“It was this war and not World War II which established a far-flung American base structure abroad and a national security state at home, as defence spending nearly quadrupled in the last six months of 1950, and turned the United States into the policeman of the world.”
― Bruce Cumings, The Korean War: A History

“It was this war and not World War II which established a far-flung American base structure abroad and a national security state at home, as defence spending nearly quadrupled in the last six months of 1950, and turned the United States in the policeman of the world.”
― Bruce Cumings, The Korean War: A History

“In fact the United States has had no exit strategy since 1945, expect in places where we were kicked out (Vietnam) or asked to leave (the Philippines): American troops still occupy Japan, Korea, and Germany, in the seventh decade after the end of World War II. Policymakers – almost always civilians with little or no military experience (Acheson is the archetype) – get Americans into wars but cannot get them out, and soon the Pentagon takes over, establishes bases, and the entire enterprise becomes a perpetual-motion machine fuelled by a defence budget that dwarfs all others in the world.”
― Bruce Cumings, The Korean War: A History