Secondly, North Korea is still as oppressive as it ever was and poses a threat to the rest of the world with taunts of nuclear playthings. Shamefully, South Korea has progressed "tortuously" (Butler). Thirdly, the fact remains that Korea is still divided with over a million troops on either side of the 38th parallel, leaving the impression that things, at least in that area of the world, have not changed very much. Butler is certainly entitled to his opinion but he should state be clear when he is interjecting it into his story. However, in support of Butler's assertions, we cannot overlook the truth of the matter. Butler's hopelessness is not without cause. Korea is a country divided. Bruce Cumings supports this notion. In his book, Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History. Cumings compares the political structure of North Korea to an inner circle and an outer circle. The country's inner circle "represents power and dominion, exercised everywhere by the few. The outer circle includes all the rest, and their search for community, decency, and participation through the architecture of politics" (Cumings 432). His assertion that the two circles have never been able to come to terms on any agreements is fair enough and supports Butler's theories.

This article was interesting in that Butler seems to go to a lot of trouble to make...

In fact, it might be difficult for some readers to identify his thesis because he goes to great lengths to provide detail. Without the subtitle of the piece and the final paragraph, it is extremely difficult to determine what Butler's point is, other than pointing out that America failed in the war and hundreds of lives were lost because the President miscalculated. Butler maintains that while the war changed America in many ways, there were few who wanted to think about it primarily because it meant admitting the fact that America had been defeated. Butler ends his article with hope that the Korean summit might prove to be a "modest step" to resolving a Cold War that has ended "almost everywhere else" (Butler). His hope for resolution becomes lost in details that are interesting but not necessary.
Syngman Rhee was the first leader of South Korea after Japanese rule. The term Task Force Smith refers to the first ground combat movement to enter Korea. Amphibious landing refers to an invasion by sea.

Works Cited

Butler, Steven. "Korea; Echoes of a War." U.S. News and World Report Online. Site Accessed May 22, 2008. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/000619/archive_015956.htm

Cumings, Bruce. Korea's Place in the Sun: A Modern History. New York W.W. Norton and Company. 1997.