replied. “General and Mrs. MacArthur had heard about my son, and wished to express their concern. The subject came up. He understands how the President feels about using Nationalist troops, and didn’t want them in the first place because they would have to be trained and equipped. He went to Taipei, he told me, as a symbol that the United States would not stand idly by if the Communists used the mess in Korea as an invitation to invade the island.”
“And you believe him?”
“Yes, I do,” Pickering said.
“And you think, when I broach the subject to him, that’s what he will say?”
“I’m sure he will.”
“When the President heard that General MacArthur had gone to see Chiang Kai-shek,” Harriman said, “he was furious. Several members of his cabinet, and others, made it clear that, in their opinions, it was sufficient justification to relieve General MacArthur.”
Neither Pickering nor Howe responded.
“The question of relieving General MacArthur came up again with regard to his message to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the VFW,” Harriman said. “You’re familiar with that?”
Pickering shook his head, no, and looked at Howe, who shrugged his shoulders, indicating he had no idea what Harriman was talking about.
“Neither of you is familiar with the message?” Harriman asked.
“No,” Pickering said. “What was in the message?”
“A disinterested observer would think that General MacArthur was not in agreement with the foreign policy of the United States,” Harriman said, sarcastically. “A cynic might interpret it to be the first plank in the platform of presidential candidate Douglas MacArthur.”
“There was nothing about a VFW message in the Stars & Stripes,” Howe said.
“The message was ‘withdrawn’ at the President’s order,” Harriman said.
“Then what’s the reason for the pressure on the President to relieve him?” Howe asked.
“There are those, I surmise,” Harriman said, “who do not share General MacArthur’s opinion of himself.”
“You know what Frank Lloyd Wright said, Averell,” Pickering said. “Something about it being rather difficult to be humble if you’re a genius.”
“But Wright is a genius,” Harriman said.
“So is MacArthur,” Pickering said. “He’s flawed, certainly. We all are. But he’s a military genius, and that should not be forgotten.”
“There are those who blame him for this mess we find ourselves in, in Korea,” Harriman said.
“How about Acheson’s speech?” Pickering said. “I took the trouble to read it. He made it pretty clear—maybe by accident—that Korea was not in our zone of interest. It was almost an invitation for North Korea to move south.”
"MacArthur has been in command of any army here that is—as has been demonstrated—incapable of fighting a war,” Harriman argued.
“I’ve talked to a lot of officers here since I got here,” Pickering said. “They place the blame on Louis Johnson. Johnson’s ‘defensive economies’ went far beyond eliminating fat—they cut to the bone and scraped it. The First Marine Division was at half—half, Averell, half—wartime strength. And there’s been almost no money for the Army. When there’s no money, there’s no training, and without training, armies cannot prepare to fight.”
“By inference—Louis Johnson serves as Secretary of Defense at the President’s pleasure—you’re saying the officers you spoke with, and perhaps you yourself, place the blame for this mess on the President.”
“The last time I was in the Oval Office,” Howe said, “there was a sign on Harry’s desk that read ‘The Buck Stops Here.’ ”
“ ‘Harry’s desk’, General?” Harriman asked. “General, you’re referring to the President of the United States.”
Howe looked uncomfortable.
Pickering laughed. Everybody looked at him in surprise. “I just figured out what you’re doing, Harriman,” he said. “I’m an amateur playing your game. It took me a little while.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, General,” Harriman said smoothly.
“You’re collecting damaging quotes from me—and from Ralph—that you can use as aces in the hole with Harry Truman if we don’t go along with what you have already decided he should hear.”
“Now see here, Pickering. . .”
“Let me save some time for you,” Pickering said. “I think Douglas MacArthur is a military genius; I’ve seen him at work. He’s a soldier who fully understands how to obey an order, especially one that comes from the Commander-in-Chief. He thinks an invasion at Inchon is the best—and probably the only—way to avoid a very bloody and lengthy battle back up the Korean peninsula. I agree with him. If there are those who don’t agree with him, in my opinion, they’re wrong.
“What the President is going to have to do is decide who is best qualified to run this war: MacArthur, or someone half a world away