The Korean War was the United Nation's first international conflict, in terms of its magnitude, it outstripped all other ventures conducted under the auspices of the UN, and is matched perhaps only by the Gulf War. The controversy surrounding its ambiguous commencement in June, 1950, resolves around the United States, the Security Council and the U.S.S.R, and it has often been argued that UN activity in the war was merely a cover for latent US interests, namely its containment policy.
UN activity in the Korean War began with the Security Council Resolution of July 7th, 1950, establishing UNC under the command of American general Douglas MacArthur. Prior to this, Truman had already given orders for the US forces to protect ROK troops before the Security Council had time to take measures to resolve the conflict. This generated an outcry from the Soviets, who, briefly by their own actions of the opportunity to veto, argued that this effectively reduced the UN into a "rubber stamp" approval system for actions already taken by the U.S.A. These facts alone form a strong case for the hidden American hand in UN activity. Why did the US intervene in Korea unilaterally before even the Security Council? …
