[r9etb]

He badly bungled it in that he set the stage for it starting ... much the same way that Bush I set up GW2 by not dealing properly with GW1. The North took advantage of their superiority in equipment, and the American withdrawal from Korea in 1949. It was a predictable event, and Truman has to take the credit for overlooking it.

Truman does get credit for wading in .... but it's very much his fault that we did so at an immediate disadvantage.

I would say, too, that he badly misread the situation leading to the entry of China into the war. He had a lot of help there, of course, and it's probably the case that he could not have stopped the Chinese invasion. But we were not at all prepared for it -- in fact, Truman ignored a direct Chinese warning of intervention three months before they invaded.

[wtc911]

I would say, too, that he badly misread the situation leading to the entry of China into the war...

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That is 100% on MacArthur. I'm sure you know that he insisted, against all evidence on the ground, that the Chicoms were sitting things out north of the Yalu. Any POTUS relies on G2 from his theater commander. In any event, I rank Truman fairly high on my list of great (ok, really, really good) presidents...he is the only dem on my list.