FinleyJennnings' cold war blog

Eisenhower, New Look and Brinkmanship.  In 1952 campaign for the presidency Eisenhower declared, “until the enslaved nations of the world have in the fullness of freedom the right to choose their own path, for then, and then only, can we say that there is a possible way of living peacefully and permanently with Communism in the world.” Eisenhower’s campaign appealed to both sides of the politics. For the bold he hinted at a policy of liberation, while the cautious could be sure in his willingness to find a way to live peacefully with the Communists. John Foster Dulles, the Republican expert on foreign policy, author of the Japanese peace treaty and future Secretary of State was more clear in his beliefs than Eisenhower. He claimed that containment was a treadmill policy meaning the best it could do was keep everything the same until the U.S economy couldn't keep up where all ability to stop communism would fail. It was deemed too expensive and would not be a clear cut end to...

The Dismissal of Douglas MacArthur At the start of the war in Korea, MacArthur had come up with some important strategies and maneuvers, including the amphibious landing of incheon that stopped the advancing North Koreans. As U.S. and United Nations forced the communists back, MacArthur argued for a policy of pushing into North Korea to completely defeat the communist forces. Truman went along with this plan, but worried that the communist government of the People’s Republic of China might take the invasion as a hostile act and intervene in the conflict. MacArthur assured Truman that the chances of a Chinese intervention were slim. Then, in November and December 1950, hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops crossed into North Korea, driving the U.S. troops back into South Korea. MacArthur then asked for permission to bomb communist China. Truman flatly refused these requests and a public argument began to develop. In April 1951, President Truman fired MacArthur and replaced him ...