In article
<i8adnbr2kPBjUUfAnZ2dnUU7-I3NnZ2d@supernews.com>,
"Byker" <byker@do~rag.net> wrote:

While it wasn't made known until after his death in 1972, reportedly Pres. Harry Truman's most paranoid fear during the Korean War wasn't an escalation into WWIII. It was when he relieved Gen. Douglas MacArthur of command, and
he feared the great I-shall-return war hero would refuse to step down, and the Chief Exec would have a military mutiny on hands. Being ever the dutiful soldier, MacArthur obeyed. MacArthur returned to the States to a hero's welcome and ticker-tape parades, while Truman was reviled and there were
loud demands for his impeachment on Capitol Hill. His approval rating
dropped to 23%, the lowest of any president EVER. He could only seethe as MacArthur toured the country, making patriotic, inflammatory speeches.

If Macarthur had refused an explicit lawful order
from the commander in chief, he would have been
arrested and court-martialed. Whatever the public
may have thought, Macarthur had almost no friends
in the Army aside from his toadies.

Omar Bradley was then Army C-in-C and Chairman of
JCS. He was anti-Macarthur, and urged Truman to
relieve him.

The probable effect would have been to discredit
Macarthur. He would have to try to justify his
defiance by claiming that he was right and everyone
else was wrong about what to do in Korea. This
would lead to a critical examination of his actions,
exposing the bungling which allowed the Chinese
attack to succeed.
--
Nous sommes dans une pot de chambre, et nous y serons emmerdés.
--- General Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot at Sedan, 1870.

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