China Daily, August 7, 2017.
Tim Beal is a retired New Zealand academic who has written extensively on Asia with a special focus on the Korean Peninsula. Recent publications include the entry on Korea for
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism (New York: Springer, 2019). He has also written some chapters for a forthcoming collection: Immanuel Ness and Stuart Davis, eds.,
Sanctions as War: Anti-Imperialist Perspectives on American Geo-Economic Strategy (Leiden: Brill, 2021).
He is very grateful for the unstinting assistance of Ankie Hoogvelt and Gregory Elich in providing comments and corrections.
In August 1945, Washington’s view of the world was utterly transformed in line with the “gunboat diplomacy” dictum of Lord Palmerston countries have no permanent friends or enemies, just permanent interests.
A recent Washington Post column absurdly compared a targeted Israeli strike against an alleged Hamas operational center to an attack on the free press.
Para-demolition bombs being dropped on supply warehouses and dock facilities at a port in Wonsan, North Korea by the Fifth Air Force s B-26 Invader light bombers (ca. 1951). From USAF (photo 306-PS-51(10303)), public holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 541959., Public Domain, Link.
Tim Beal is a retired New Zealand academic who has written extensively on Asia with a special focus on the Korean peninsula. His most recent work is the entry on Korea for
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism (Springer Publishing, 2019).
Bombing is perhaps the epitome of modern military power and imperial might, both in symbolism and significance. Consider the medieval knight resplendent in his armor that protected against the enemy, most of whom were poorly equipped peasants. The richer he was, the better the armor, giving a sense of invulnerability and wealth, expressed in ornateness. It is not