MacArthur

Well, I've been hessitant to write on this simply because I am not as familiar with the subject of the General as I would like to be. I have heard the whole gambit in regards to U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur and I honestly am not sure if he is a criminal or a hero.

Now, before I get jumped on for not being firm on it either way, let me put it to you this way; I firmly beleive that the majority of HEROES that have been made into icons over the past thousand or so years, have had that distinction occasionally because of greatness, but more often than not, because of victory.

MacArthur was successfull with his landing in Incheon and as such he is a hero to many. He helped to push back (or at least cut off supplies to) a North Korean Army bent on dominating the peninsula. And there in lies the rub;

Some in South Korea now would want you to beleive that he actually stopped a sovereign country's right to determine it's own destiny.

Others take it at face value that he helped to stop the unwanted flow of Communism into the south.

For me, I think I'll form my own camp likening him to a guard dog. I have always said that if a dog bites, it's rarely the dogs fault. It is the owners responsibility to keep him on a short leash. If MacArthur stepped out of line, then it was up to Truman to give him a tug back into place. I guess, in the end... he did just that.

He did the job he was positioned to do, repulse the North korean attack. He did it by a risky strategic move, flanking the enemy in an amphibious assault. The citizens of Incheon made a statue to commemorate his acheivement and I stand along with these old chaps in saying it should not be taken down.




EDIT: Well, apparently the "left" side of the argument has been asked to apear before a judge. While South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon (one of my few I like in this administration) has sent a letter off to the US pledged (that) his government to do its best in thwarting any attempt to demolish or damage the statue, saying such a bid runs counter to the "mature perception of history by South Koreans".. Good on ya ban old buddy!