WAR PROPAGANDA

their side always behave impeccably. A recently published book "Scorched Earth, Black Snow: Britain and Australia in the Korean War, 1950" by Andrew Salmon seems to explode that myth. "British and Commonwealth soldiers fighting in the Korean War looted and burnt villages, shot dead wounded enemy soldiers, and killed Korean civilians and prisoners of war in cold blood according to new accounts by veterans of the conflict." (Times, 17 June) The war which took place from June 1950 until July 1953 was a particularly bloody affair. It is estimated that 1,078 British, 40,000 American, 46,000 South Koreans, 215,00 North Koreans and 400,000 Chinese were killed. RD