CDKW00398 - No Room to Object

In this letter from 9 May 1951, the Canadians noted that a key US position had solidified. As the Secretary for the Chiefs of Staff writes, “The U.S. authorities had now stated that, if bases in Manchuria were used for assaults on the U.N. Forces, it would be necessary to bomb such bases.” This position diverged greatly from the Canadian diplomatic position that had strategically avoided supporting any bombing within Chinese borders. Canadian diplomats were hoping to avoid a direct war with China by isolating the use of force to the Korean peninsula. Given the military position on the ground, however, “it did not appear possible for Canada to object to this position.” Even though the Korean conflict was ostensibly being fought and managed by the UN, these documents reveal just how much the American position pushed the UN Forces into a more drastically confrontational posture that the Canadians or other UN contributors would naturally have pursued.