How to do an Armistice
Why the Korean War is the right model for Ukraine, and 10 clues from history for today’s decision-makers
I’m sure by now you’ve seen the following, announced late Thursday:
The following is an actual plan to avert hot war.
Many today have the notion that the Korean Armistice was a wholesome affair, and a welcomed relief. It wasn’t. It was bitterly opposed, from all directions.
South Korea’s President Syngman Rhee was against it – and led demonstrations in opposition to it. The North was ambivalent. Stalin (until his death in March 1953) was deeply opposed. Eisenhower’s own Secretary of State John Foster Dulles was against it, as was much of the US Congress/Senate. Eisenhower’s biographer, Stephen E. Ambrose: “[There was] a near revolt by Republican senators against their own Administration… [Republican leader in the Senate Styles] Bridges and [Joseph] McCarthy believed that ‘freedom-loving people’ should applaud Rhee’s defiance of the armistice.”
So how did the Korean Armistice come about? Why is the Korean War the right analogy for Ukraine, and what clues might the example provide decision-makers today?
Illuminating a middle path between Western hawks and isolationists, here are 10 lessons from the conflict being heroically brought to a close…
Continue reading on Listening to the Other Side
Preview:
The President of South Korea never actually signed the Armistice. This is an interesting detail. (Maybe Zelensky wouldn’t have to)
There was a clause in the agreement that allowed for security guarantees while being sensitive to an adversary’s desire for there being restrictions on weaponry for a non-allied country on its border.
X thread version of the piece here: https://x.com/listeningtother/status/1796110574478061764
This one article is the product of six weeks of full-time research.
Please share, and help steer our leaders away from hot war with Russia. This is getting serious.
Good research and an interesting idea. It seems to me that, despite the media buzz, Biden is still not walking too quickly in the direction of escalation. He seems to be agreeing to perimeter strikes in Russia, which have anyway been happening for a year or so, I think, and aren't over Putin's red line expressed earlier in the week. Of course, any escalation can end in brinkmanship. But hopefully something like your idea can be found to move forwards with. The Americans seem to be least among the hawks right now.