Kinnard, Douglas

Pearlman, Michael D.

English

U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons

Naval War College ReviewVolume 61Number 4 Autumn Article 232008Truman and MacArthur: Policy, Politics, and theHunger for Honor and RenownDouglas KinnardMichael D. PearlmanFollow this and additional works at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-reviewThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. It has been accepted forinclusion in Naval War College Review by an authorized editor of U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons. For more information, please contactrepository.inquiries@usnwc.edu.Recommended CitationKinnard, Douglas and Pearlman, Michael D. (2008) "Truman and MacArthur: Policy, Politics, and the Hunger for Honor andRenown," Naval War College Review: Vol. 61 : No. 4 , Article 23.Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol61/iss4/23embark on its “Titoist” escapade. Thede-Stalinization theme set by the Twen-tieth Communist Party Congress of theSoviet Union in February 1956 made amajor impact on Soviet thinking. NikitaKhrushchev, Anastas Mikoyan, andeven such hard-liners as Mikhail Suslovseemed predisposed to allow Budapest asignificant degree of autonomy in its in-terpretation of communism. Were itnot for the massacre of party officials inBudapest’s Republic Square, Gati ar-gues, the revolution stood an excellentchance to succeed.Perhaps the bigger nemesis was Wash-ington. The combined incompetence ofthe Central Intelligence Agency; the mis-guided, provocative propaganda of theRadio Free Europe (RFE) team in Mu-nich; and the White House refusal to fo-cus on the plight of Budapest during theSuez crisis created a “perfect storm”—encouraging the Hungarian Revolutionwithout any serious thought of ever sup-porting it. This would not have been sopainful had not 96 percent of all Hun-garians, most of whom ravenously de-voured the RFE reports, thought that theUnited States would provide unlimitedsupport for the revolution.This account certainly warrants readingby history buffs and public policy mak-ers alike. Gati has a way of personalizingthe day-by-day accounts of the action inBudapest that makes for an easy read.However, the reader is left with a seriesof provocative questions. What made theSoviet politburo overturn its decisionand ultimately send in tanks to Hun-gary? Was Washington capable of focus-ing on more than one flash point at atime? Would at least one fluentHungarian-speaking CIA agent in Hun-gary have made a difference in U.S. pol-icy? Fortunately for his readership, Gatiis not short of hindsight on any of thesequestions.TOM FEDYSZYNNaval War CollegePearlman, Michael D. Truman and MacArthur:Policy, Politics, and the Hunger for Honor and Re-nown. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 2008.352pp. $29.95Michael D. Pearlman retired in 2006 asprofessor of history at the Army Com-mand and General Staff College. Henow offers a complete history of the po-litical, diplomatic, and military factorsleading to President Harry S. Truman’sApril 1951 firing of General DouglasMacArthur, Supreme Commander, FarEast. A presentation at times overdonefor general readers, this scholarly workwill interest those who specialize inAmerican strategic and diplomatic deci-sion making from post–World War IIthrough the Korean War.Problems between Truman and hisviceroy in Asia began early in the Ko-rean War. In August 1950 Truman or-dered MacArthur to rescind a publicstatement sent to the annual conven-tion of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, inwhich MacArthur advocated preservingTaiwan for a future attack on mainlandChina. This statement was in directconflict with White House policy tokeep the war in Korea limited.Late in December 1950, after the Chi-nese attacked across the Yalu River inKorea, MacArthur responded to a JointChiefs of Staff message with acounterproposal. He advocated thesedecisive destructive blows: a blockadeof Chinese coastal areas, destruction ofChinese industrial capacities to wageB O O K R E V I E W S 1 5 91Kinnard and Pearlman: Truman and MacArthur: Policy, Politics, and the Hunger for HonorPublished by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2008war, and Nationalist Chinese forces tocounterattack on the mainland.Early in 1951, when the Chinese com-munist forces began to falter in the faceof tougher American and allied resis-tance, MacArthur became bolder andattacked the Truman administration’sconcept of limited war in Korea. On 24March MacArthur preempted the ad-ministration by announcing his willing-ness to negotiate with enemycommanders.Truman conferred with his key advisersand a consensus emerged that MacAr-thur’s insubordination called for hisdismissal. The occasion, though not thecause, was a letter from MacArthur toJoseph Martin, the senior Republican inthe House of Representatives. The let-ter, which praised a speech of Martin’scalling for a second front in China, wasread into The Congressional Record on 5April. Six days later, MacArthur wasfired.Pearlman’s credentials are manifest. Hehas produced a thorough account of de-cision making, bureaucratic and parti-san politics, and old grudges andresentments. The latter are sometimesextraneous, but to his credit, he also ex-amines another aspect of the Koreanconflict—events behind closed doors inBeijing and Moscow. The work offersvaluable information on Sino-Soviet re-lations during this period, though theauthor might have expanded on thissubject beyond the limited issues of Sta-lin’s fear of an American nuclear attackand his sales of arms to Mao Tse-tung.In sum, this is a first-rate research effortby a distinguished historian, writing ina lively style that somewhat counterbal-ances the book’s density, and of consid-erable value and interest to students ofthe period.DOUGLAS KINNARDEmeritus Professor of Political ScienceUniversity of Vermont1 6 0 N A V A L W A R C O L L E G E R E V I E W2Naval War College Review, Vol. 61 [2008], No. 4, Art. 23https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol61/iss4/23

Truman and MacArthur: Policy, Politics, and the Hunger for Honor and Renown

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Truman and MacArthur: Policy, Politics, and the Hunger for Honor and Renown

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