Oops, incomplete thought alert. MacArthur was right about one thing: it wasn't actually possible to win the war on the Asian mainland without nuclear weapons. We could have beaten the Red Chinese in the 1950s with nukes. It would have been our last chance to do that in a long time.
I think MacArthur gave that advice before we entered the Korean war, and in any case, his words were ignored by Truman. Civlian control of the military is essential in a democratic nation, but history may show that MacArthur was right more often than was the State Department or Truman.
As MacArthur said,
The prestige of the Western world hangs in the balance. Oriental millions are watching the outcome. It is plainly apparent that here in Asia is where the Communist conspirators have elected to make their play for global conquest. The test is not in Berlin or Vienna, in London, Paris or Washington. It is here and now–it is along the Naktong River in South Korea. We have joined the issue on the battlefield. Actually, we here fight Europe's war with arms, while there it is still confined to words. If we lose the war to Communism in Asia, the fate of Europe will be gravely jeopardized. Win it and Europe will probably be saved from war and stay free. Make the wrong decision her–the fatal decision of inertia–and we will be done. I can almost hear the ticking of the second hand of destiny. We must act now or we will die.(source: General Douglas MacArthur Writings 1950-1951. Consider that when you think about Vietnam, Iran, Beirut, and 9/11. I think MacArthur predicted the eventual outcome: we were timid in our defense of liberty, tired and full of woe after WWII and the 37,000 men we lost in Korea. We couldn't stomach the task at hand: wiping out the vestigages of the first and most violent attack by communism on western interests.
Re:
http://denbeste.nu/cd_log_entries/2003/08/NorthKoreablinks.shtml
This is an excellent blog post, and if the writer's conclusions are correct, bodes well for the US, if Bush can ignore the pack of yapping critics at his heels and stay the course. The key to solving the North Korean problem was, is and always will be the Chinese. The ChiComs intend to establish their own hegemony in Asia, and they won't allow the NKs to screw things up at this early stage. At this point in time we can use this certainty to our advantage, and buy need time on the chance that Chinas's merchantile class will eventually prevail over its expansionist military rulers. The wild card is the Japanese, who absolutely will not tolerate a nuclear NK, period. And China cannot tolerate a nuclear Japan, the old animosities still run hard and deep..... in this case, Churchill was right, better jaw jaw than war war.