[Phil Connors]

Another even more egregious blunder by Truman is his failure to prevent the Communist takeover of China in 1949.>>

What do you suggest he should have done??!?!!

[LiveFree99]

Truman should have given massive military aid to the Chinese Nationalists and leaned hard on his buddy "Uncle Joe" Stalin to stop all aid to the Communists. Stalin wouldn't have stopped all aid, but it would have made it clear to him that the U.S. was dead serious and committed to stopping the spread of Communism.

IIRC, afterwards Truman justified his abandonment of the Nationalists because of the alleged corruption of Gen. Chang Kaishek, whom he and the appeasement lobby called "Cash My Check." The U.S. could have channeled the aid more directly to the Nationalist forces and found more reliable leaders in the movement. Instead, Truman allowed the most populous country on earth to go communist. This almost certainly lead to the stalemated Korean War and negatively affected our position in Viet Nam a decade later. Red China is now rapidly increasingly its military strength and engaging in an aggressive foreign policy that may result in a military confrontation with the U.S. in the fairly near future.

Truman: A small man in a big job.