Posted on 08/14/2012 3:39:01 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
08-07-2012 18:10
US planned nuclear no-man’s land
By Lee Tae-hoon
The United States considered creating a no man’s land with radioactive nuclear waste halfway across the Korean Peninsula in the early 1950s in an attempt to deter communist aggression, according to a declassified intelligence document.
The memorandum titled “Radiological Warfare” and created on April 20, 1951 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), confirms allegations that the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) reviewed the option of placing radiological agents on a strip of land across the peninsula.
Cryptome, a whistleblower site dedicated to exposing confidential information, posted the sensitive document on its website on Aug. 5.
U.S. media outlets, including the New York Times, alleged in early 1951 that Albert Gore Sr., a state legislator, urged President Harry S. Truman to use radioactive materials to create a belt of territory across Korea that would be unable to support life in the midst of the 1950-53 Korean War.
The FBI report discloses that the AEC examined the possibilities of creating such a belt across the peninsula with radioactive material as Gore suggested to hamper the Communists from marching further toward the South.
“While discussing other matters with Dr. Paul McDaniel of the Atomic Energy Commission, he brought this subject up with Agent Bates of the Liaison Section,” the report says.
“Dr. McDaniel pointed out that a commission, set up in 1948 to examine the possibilities of using radiological warfare in such a manner, as outlined by Representative Gore, had furnished their final report to the Atomic Energy Commission on April 11.”
The FBI document states that the U.S. commission’s report concluded that it was possible for an area to be completely "dehumanized" by periodically laying down radioactive nuclear waste, but it advised the U.S. government not to adopt the “cataclysmic” method.
“It would mean greatly curtailing the present production of plutonium in order to produce the necessary radiological agents,” the declassified dossier said, noting that the AEC assessed that it had insufficient waste material for such a program.
“Under the present AEC facilities and proposed facilities, there is no provision for the production of such agents. Research would have to be done to develop a radiological agent of sufficient strength to last long enough to be effective.”
Gore’s proposal would have required poisoning a strip up some 170 kilometers in length and several kilometers in width to be effective.
Nevertheless, the FBI document showed that the U.S. commission pointed out that the use of radiological agents should not be completely ruled out and should be kept in mind for future discussions.
The former Tennessee Democrat reportedly said, “The inhabitants of the area should be removed first and the Communists warned in advance that entry into the area would mean certain death and slow deformity and that all weapons, food clothing and vehicles would become poisoned.”
P!
Gore’s daddy was an execrable hypocrite who played both sides (1951 was the year before he challenged and defeated Conservative Democrat Sen. Kenneth McKellar, a champion of privatizing the TVA). This “plan” of his sounds like something Auric Goldfinger would’ve approved of, and nevermind the ghastly damage it would’ve created to the environment.
Old news belive McArthur was promoting this strategy.
The first time I read about this plan it was in a column by Bob Considine written at the time of the death of Douglas MacArthur.
In 1964.
It was part of MacArthur’s plan to keep the Chinese on their own side of the Yalu.
It was my understanding that Eisenhower ended the Korean War by telling Stalin that he was prepared to use nuclear weapons in Korea at a time when the U.S. had overwhelming nuclear superiority, basically engaging in nuclear blackmail. I could be wrong.
Declassified? That McArthur wanted this has been in his bio for, I don’t know - more than 30 years?
I believe this story was circulated in the 1960s.
Yes, it’s very old. What may be new is the planning and analysis leading to the rejection; i don’t think I’ve seen that before.
There were several times during the Korean War where the use of nuclear weapons was considered.
On 15 September 1950 an “Atomic Target Analysis” prepared by the United States Far East Command recommended the dropping of a 40 kiloton bomb on Pyongyang to destroy enemy troop concentrations.
On 30 November 1950 President Truman said during a press conference that the use of nuclear weapons was under active consideration.
On 24 December 1950 General MacArthur submitted “a list of retardation targets” for which he required 26 atomic bombs. He also wanted 4 to drop on the “invasion forces” and 4 more for “critical concentrations of enemy air power”.
On 10 March 1951 General MacArthur asked for a “D-Day atomic capability” to retain air superiority in the Korean theatre, after the Chinese massed huge new forces near the Korean border and after the Soviets put 200 bombers into airbases in Manchuria
At the end of March 1951 General Stratemeyer reported that atomic bomb loading pits at Kadena Air Base on Okinawa were operational; the bombs were carried there unassembled and put together at the base.
On 6 April 1951 President Truman issued an order approving the transfer of a limited number of complete atomic weapons “from Atomic Energy Commission to military custody”.
In May 1951 General Ridgway asked for 38 atomic bombs.
In October 1951 US forces performed Operation Hudson Harbor intending to establish the capability to use nuclear weapons. The simulation consisted of 4 practice bombing runs flown by B-29’s from Yokota Air Base in Japan which dropped dummy as well as conventional bombs to test the effectiveness of using nuclear weapons in support of ground troop operations.
On 20 May 1953 President Eisenhower and the National Security Council approved the use of nuclear weapons if the Chinese and North Koreans did not sign the Armistice agreement.
The reason this was never done is twofold:
Radioactive agents don’t stay where you put them, AND...
How long do you think it takes a tank to travel “a couple of kilometers”—and how bad could the radiation effect inside be for those few minutes?
AS IF the commies cared—or even told the troops about it.
****The United States considered creating a no man’s land with radioactive nuclear waste halfway across the Korean Peninsula in the early 1950s****
This is LATE BREAKING NEWS? I knew about it back in the early 1960s.
It was no secret that Gen McArthur wanted to set of a series of ATOMIC COBALT bombs clear across Korea to kill the Chinese as they poured across the border.
Thanks for the expanded data. I’m sure this data leaked and fired up the “Ban the Bomb” socialists.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.