Second blog post

It is interesting the way that Truman justifies America’s involvement in the war. By spinning the invasion of South Korea as “threatening to the credibility of the ‘Free World’”, he plays to the public’s ego and patriotism, saying that America is trying to prevent a third world war. Going by this logic, was the US justified in trying to conquer North Korea then? If the Communists were really “engaged in a monstrous conspiracy to stamp out freedom all over the world,” then did the US have any other option?? From the start, it seems that the vast majority of people, from Truman and his advisors to congress to the American citizens, were in support of the US going to Korea. One thing I didn’t quite understand was when Patterson was talking about how Truman initially wanted to avoid fighting in Korea on the ground. “This hope reflected their acute awareness of America’s military weakness, especially it’s army’s.” If Truman recognized the military’s weakness, how did he change his mind so quickly?