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Article: Can a nuclear war break out? North Korea's missile tests have made the world stand up and take notice. What will happen next?(News)
- Article from:
- The Star (South Africa)
- Article date:
- July 17, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Independent News & Media PLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BYLINE: hans pienaar
A vignette of life-size figures in the South Korean War Museum in Seoul shows a group of American soldiers "topping-up" their water bottles on the shore of the Pusan River in 1953. They are glancing up at mountains on the other side, in China.
After beating back the "human waves" of Chinese invaders on the Korean Peninsula, the United Nations' peace force, still the largest to have been gathered, was ready to push on to Manchuria. Its leader, General Douglas MacArthur, proposed that a nuclear strike be aimed at the region's heavy industries, so crippling China.
US president Harry S Truman rejected the option, leading to ...