This is Douglas MacArthur. He is a colorful character, he would smoke tobacco in a corn cob pipe.
His claim to fame was the Korean War.
He lead a very aggressive and successful campaign however President Truman took him out of command.
There are those today that would say he was correct and the USA should never have committed to a North Korea.
In perhaps (click here) the most famous civilian-military confrontation in the history of the United States, President Harry S. Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of command of the U.S. forces in Korea. The firing of MacArthur set off a brief uproar among the American public, but Truman remained committed to keeping the conflict in Korea a "limited war."...
What does MacArthur and Truman have to do with Ukraine? It is a lesson in fact to the power of the USA and it's potential to cause a global tragedy.
General MacArthur had no patience with any conflict in Korea. It was to be won and peace was to reign. He wasn't wrong, he was short sighted.
General MacArthur ran a very, very successful campaign and drove the oppositional Koreans into China. MacArthur wanted to cross the Chinese border and continue the war to remove the warring Koreans from the face of the Earth.
Much to President Truman's credit, he called the aggressive campaign up the Korean Peninsula to an end. He wasn't going to cross a Chinese border into a sovereign nation with unknown capacity to the USA military. He wasn't about to make an enemy with a population basically believed to be unarmed, at least to the extent the USA was at the time.
President Truman ordered MacArthur to withdraw the troops to the 38th parallel. China was not sending troops into Korea and had no intention of doing so. It was completely wrong in every aspect, including morality, to engage a war in a country that never asked to be involved. As a result of the differences President Truman had General MacArthur removed from command of USA forces.
The rest regarding Korea is history. The interesting aspect to this is that the USA was already at war. It had sustained significant losses. It wasn't as though the USA was at peace when Truman changed the 'theater of war' to an end and allowed the oppositional Koreans to return to what is now North Korea. The 38th parallel is now the DMZ (demilitarized zone).
My purpose is not to debate the decisions of MacArthur and Truman, it is to allow the realization there is a limit to war when it comes to the sovereign borders of any country. They must be respected. I am not saying Russia is innocent in this instance, but, Russia does not want war within it's sovereign borders. President Putin is attempting an economic alliance and such an ambition doesn't really invite war as part of the trade agreements.
Ukraine is facing a civil war and if the separatists were not so well armed they would not have shot down a civilian airliner and the conflict with the Ukraine would most probably be over. This civil war is between Ukraine separatists that CHOOSE to call themselves Pro-Russia (whatever that means - I think it is only to pander to a greater power than they for influence in weaponry) has to be contained within Ukraine's borders. It is wrong for Russia to escalate the war. Absolutely. If Russia sincerely wants to eliminate war at it's borders than don't fuel it. Obviously, Putin likes to pretend he is the most powerful country and honors the 'Pro-Russia' people by allowing them their war. I am sure Putin wants the Separatists to be successful. They haven't been successful yet.
What the USA President Truman realized is that the Korean War had to be fought regardless of the perils to it's military. He knew it could only be fought on the Korean Peninsula. To that end he engaged the oppositional Koreans at a place that basically divides the peninsula in half. The Secretary of State then became more important than any General in ending the conflict. The oppositional Koreans dearly learned from MacArthur they would eventually be annihilated if they continued this hideous war.
Ukraine was at a gross disadvantage when the first murders of this conflict began at the Maidan. The disadvantage has brought it to a point where it now has the military prowess to push the Separatists to the Russian border. Ukraine has to decide to prevent a larger war with Russian forces. If Ukraine were to engage Russia it would be counterproductive to it's hope for peace and a unified country that pursues peace through trade relations with other nations.
Ukraine has sustained painful losses and may feel defeated for those losses, but, it hardly is defeated. It has come eons from that first set of murders. It has a strong military force, albeit with 'aged' military equipment that may border on dangerously out of repair and/or purpose, but it is a strong military with great commanders that care about their soldiers.
If the Soviet trained commanders for the Ukraine is at loss for how to proceed to a successful end while protecting their nation's soldier, they may want to seek conference/consultation with others that might provide ideas for success.
Ukraine can do this. I have witnessed a country with strong people determined to be autonomous and free. The desire for freedom is more than half the battle. I have witnessed free elections of a President with great success in building within an economy. I have confidence in Ukraine, they need to now regroup to carry out the civil war to a successful end.
