Well said, Rick, and I agree with most of what you say.
This is one of the reasons that I recommend the recent works about MacArthur. Records about Soviet planning vis a vis Korea were not available until after the fall of the Soviet Union.
FWIW, the US nuclear arsenal dwarfed that of the Soviet Union in the Korea era. So did our delivery means. Both Stalin and Mao were well aware of this. They were also confident that Truman would never even threaten to use this temporary advantage, whereas MacArthur believed that there was never a substitute for total victory.
Records released after the collapse of the Soviet Union clearly reveal that Stalin never had any intention of getting involved in a full scale war with the US in the Korea era for what are now obvious reasons. Indeed, such records demonstrate that he would have readily abandoned both Korea and communist China if the US (Truman) appeared willing to demand total victory. MacArthur's experience and perception correctly predicted this. Macarthur was a big picture guy. No one could see the big picture, especially but not exclusively, in the Pacific and Asia, as did MacArthur. Yes, he was a good battlefield tactician, but so too were others, e.g., Patton, Ridgeway, etc., but NO ONE could see the big picture as did MacArthur.
We are once again on the precipice in Korea. Sadly, both economic and military tables are reversed, and we have no MacArthur. If we did, I'm sure that The General would counsel his superiors to withdraw.
For those of you who do not know, John Kennedy regarded MacArthur highly (even though, he scotched JFKs Medal of Honor pushed by Joseph Kennedy, a significant FDR supporter, who had made his fortune running guns into Cuba and liquor in the US during prohibition, because the young and inexperienced JFK has allowed his small, fast and maneuverable PT boat to be rammed and cut in half by a Japanese destroyer in the slot (Please, Navy folks: How does this happen?)) and visited him in the early 60s (1962?). The 82 year old Macarthur (folks, this is all from memory, so don't nit pick) was nearing his death bed but he counseled his young and inexperienced CIC: Don't get involved in Viet Nam. Of course, the young and inexperienced Kennedy, as well as the not so young but similarly inexperienced Johnson both chose to ignore his sage advise.
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