On Thu, 05 May 2005 20:13:33 -0400, NOYB wrote:


The Chinese were neck-deep in things from the beginning. China gave its
blessings for the start of the war to Kim, and then supplied the North
Koreans during the early months of the war. They were an active
participant from the very beginning. MacArthur wanted to hit supply
depots in China, and Truman refused. Yes, MacArthur pushed north to the
Yalu, but it was against Truman's orders. That's why I said that
"Truman didn't allow MacArthur to push past the 38th". Six months
later, MacArthur was removed from command.

Not quite. Truman's orders to MacArthur:
"Your military objective is the
destruction of the North Korean armed forces. In attaining this objective
you are authorized to conduct military operations, including amphibious
and airborne landings or ground operations north of the 38th Parallel in
Korea, provided that at the time of such operations there has been no
entry into North Korea by major Soviet or Chinese Communist Forces, no
announcement of intended entry, nor a threat to counter our operations
militarily in North Korea. Under no circumstances, however, will your
forces cross the Manchurian or USSR borders of Korea" - Gen. Bradley,
Chairman, US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Sept.27, 1950.

Truman decided that it would be better to reach a stalemate than risk a
larger war with either China or the Soviet Union, or both. MacArthur
thought that he was already fighting the Chinese and Truman was tying his
hands. It's unclear what the world would look like today if MacArthur's
voice was listened to, but Truman's precedent of limited war is still with
us.

LOL? The reference to the 17th parallel had to do with my discussion
with Doug about Vietnam. Korea didn't have a "17th parallel". That
should have been your first clue.

Yup, my mistake. I did catch it, and tried to supersede the post, but .
.. .


And the B-52 was very much in our inventory during the Vietnam war.