Against the World

"Lay circles" abroad, said Douglas MacArthur, had severely criticized his strategic recommendations for winning the Korean war. The general's eloquent exposition of his views before Congress failed to win over any of his foreign critics. Europe's opposition to the MacArthur plan for victory in the Far East was practically unanimous. "Third-force" Asians, i.e., those who believe in a third grouping of nations between the Russians and the Americans, also remained unshaken in their hostility. Only those Far Eastern peoples closest to the point of crisis--South Koreans, Chinese on Formosa, Filipinos, Japanese--found strength and sound sense in his words.

Moscow's Literary Gazette saw Mac-Arthur's performance before Congress as a "production" out-Hollywooding Hollywood. It treated the general to the usual vituperation ("demonic evil genius . . . haughty Napoleon of Asia"), then got down to the serious party line: in essence, there is nothing to choose between the MacArthur and Truman programs in Asia; only the withdrawal of American forces from Korea and acceptance of Chinese Communist "peace" proposals (i.e., U.N. surrender) would prove that the U.S. is not a warmonger.

London's pro-Socialist Daily Mirror found it "a dangerous challenge to the policies of the Truman Government, the British Commonwealth and the U.N. . . . justifies his removal." Other left-wing quarters were less strident; they were taken aback by MacArthur's sympathy for Asian nationalism, his stand against "imperious direction" and for "kindly guidance" of former colonial peoples; but they, too, cried alarm over an extension of the war. The pro-government Times, which had approved the general's ouster, was the only London paper to print his speech in full. The Times paid tribute to his speech: "Strong, never falling below dignified utterance and uncompromising." Yet the Times was not won over. Even as Communist forces unleashed another offensive in Korea, Defense Minister Emanuel Shinwell told Britpns that MacArthur's dismissal had opened the way for the U.N. and Red China "to get together."

Across the Channel, Le Monde was the only French-language Paris paper to give its readers the full MacArthur text. The Gaullist Ce Matin railed: "The general is obviously more attached to the Yellow Continent than to his own country." West Berlin's Der Tag said: "On one point [MacArthur] is incontrovertible--Communism threatens the whole world. Therefore, one cannot oppose it merely in one place alone." The Vatican's Osservatore Romano deplored the general's words as "imprecise and dangerous."

The Times of India thought it would be well to "abjure [MacArthur's] inflammatory advice," lest it lead to a "headon collision" between the Western world and the Eastern bloc. Japan's press hailed their country's former ruler for presenting "the true picture of Asia today . . . Free Asia is grateful." The Philippines' U.N. Ambassador General Carlos Romulo spoke for his countrymen: "A masterpiece . . . [The general is] a benefactor of the human race."

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