National Affairs: Counter-battery

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During his farewell interviews with old friends in the White House press corps last week, Harry Truman managed to take a shot at an old foe. His "primary reason" for firing General Douglas MacArthur, he told United Press's Merriman Smith, was that MacArthur "wanted to involve us in an all-out war in the Far East." For more than 24 hours after this shot zinged off in the old soldier's direction, there was nothing but silence. Then, having laid his guns carefully, MacArthur sent back a whole volley. Through his aide, Major General Courtney Whitney, he issued a statement which began by calling the Truman remark "inaccurate and misleading." MacArthur went on: "My purpose and desire was not to extend the war but only to end it. At that time, this could have been accomplished with only a fraction of the approximately 70,000 American battle casualties which have since resulted. Actually, the longer it lasts, the greater the chance of its spreading."

Then MacArthur really poured his contempt on Harry Truman: "How anyone could use such a bloody drama as a means of self-glorification is quite beyond my comprehension."