Evening star., 1951-04-22

etn european otleS.
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trying to do. and have transmit
ted the necessary instructions to
the military commander. they
must still provide a central po-
litical leadership to carry on the
war from the point of view Of
high policy-or the general will
do 1t for them. Some $50 years
ago the British Gen. Marlborough
became. for a time, the most pow
erful political and military per-
Sonage in Europe. being compelled
to extend his authority step by
step and to assume political as
well as military duties simply be-
cause the governments which had
Joined in the Grand Alliance
against Louis Wv had no central
lied political body for directing
the war.
The same, to a lesser extent,
was true of Wellington in Spain
during the Napoleonic Wars. In
World War I, the unified COM
mands of Joffre and Nivelle both
failed because the British and
French governments could not
make up their minds to establish
"a centralized political agency.
No Civilian Director in Korea.
The unified command of Foch
was successful because, at long
last. the Allied powers set up the
Supreme War Council to provide
Ia centralized civilian direction of
the war. In World War II, we
were very luckys on this point,
since the fortunate chance that
the late President Roosevelt and
Prime Minister Churchill under
stood each other and worked ef-
ficiently together providing a fort
uitous but effective central civilian
direction.
But in Korea. Gen. Macarthur
has had no such civilian direc-
ton. President Truman. his super
Tor within the American Govern
ment's chain of command, was
still lacking in authority to make
United Nations policy. The U. N.
Security Council to all intents
and purposes the governing body
OF a military alliance-contented
itself with vague generalities.con-
scious as its members were that
their governments did not agree
as to what to do about Red China
But Gen. Macarthur was fight
ing the Red Chinese on the battle
fields every day. His men were
being killed. He had no positive
orders. only a series of restrictive
prohibitions. This situation was
intolerable for war has a way of
compelling decisions-or of impos-
ing them.
Military Power Fills Vacuum.
War. once started, does not
stand still. No general worthy OF
the name could endure to see his
men being killed to no purpose
So, as has always happened in the
past, and as will inevitably happen
in like cases in the future. the
general, confronted with lack of
political direction, began to try
to compel decisions or make de-
cisions himself in the field of
policy.
The military power began pre- ss-
ing in to fill the vacuum of au-
thority which the civilian mower
had failed to fill. This will hap
pen inEurope, too. with Gen. Eisen-
hover, if the existing confusion
there isn't Strengthened out. If
the nations concerned don't want
it to happen, they will do well to
study carefully the root causes of
the troubles now centering around
Gen. Macarthur.
We must also realize the grave
danger that future decisions as
to Far Eastern policy may become
befogged by the emotional anc
passionate reactions to Gen. Mac
Arthur's removal, and by the par
tiSan uses to which ambitious poll
ticians may try to turn the existing
controversy.
1t may not be easy to do what
is wise and necessary. Consider,