European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 31, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday March 31,1991 the stars and stripes Page 13 commentary George Gedda Bush conflict not Macarthur-1 the dust up Between president Bush and Gem Norman Schwarzkopf Over the timing of the end of fighting against Iraq added a titillating touch to tire persian Gulf War Post Mort Ems. Bucana conflicts Between civilian presidents and military commanders go this one deserves Little More than a Small footnote it was downright tame compared to what happened precisely 40 years ago when Harry Truman was president and Douglas Macarthur was commander of an Allied coalition fighting in Korea. Like Schwarzkopf Macarthur Felt he had the enemy on the run and wanted to carry the fight further than did Truman. Like Bush Truman Felt pressures both domestically and internationally to keep the conflict contained a and not to tempt a political backlash by widening it. On March 20, 1991, Schwarzkopf told interviewer David Frost a my recommendation had been. Continue the March. We had them in a rout. We could have made it in fact a Battle of Ann Hila. a on March 20, 1951, Macarthur wrote to House minority Leader Joseph Martin a my views and recommendations with respect to the situation created by red China sentry into the War. I. Follow the conventional pattern of meeting Force with maximum counter Force. Here in a is where the communist conspirators have elected to make their play for global Conquest. If we lost this War to communism in Asia the fall of Europe is Martin read Macarthur a letter on the House floor on april 5, provoking outrage from Truman. As Truman saw it Macarthur forgot who was Boss. Truman Felt that if the allies became bogged Down in a ground War in China that might be an incentive for the soviets to move against Europe. The Macarthur letter Truman said later constituted a open insubordination to his commander in six Days after the letter was made pub lie Truman fired Macarthur. The president who had served anonymously As a nearsighted army Captain during world War i boldly cashiered the general who had become a legend during world War ii a five Star fighter whose exploits had earned him a reputation As a military Genius. A a a a a a. V a a a a a a the differences Between 1951 Anch 1991 outweigh the similarities. When Schwarzkopf spoke out the cease fire in the persian Gulf had already been in effect for three weeks. The iraqi military had been routed at astonishingly Low Cost to the Allied forces America is still Savouring its Victory. In contrast the korean conflict was still in its infancy at the time Truman sacked Macarthur. The War did no tend for another 21 years and the death toll of american soldiers alone was More than 33,000. There were other differences. Until the Frost interview there was no Indica Tion of any differences Between Bush and Schwarzkopf. In contrast Truman had been having trouble keeping Macarthur in line for More than two years before sacking him. A the Media seized on Schwarzkopf comments because they seemed to puncture the notion that civilian military Coor ordination throughout the Gulf operation was one of lockstep Harmony. Schwarzkopf said he recommended against the cease fire Bush replied that the general had said nothing of the kind and was in a total agreement with the decision to end the fighting on feb. 27. Bush sought thursday to defuse the Dis Pute by calling Schwarzkopf to Tell him that despite those Page one headlines trumpeting a rift they arc still on the a same Wavelength a according to White House Deputy press Secretary roman Popadiuk. Truman and Macarthur never were on the same Wavelength. On his return Home while Truman suffered in silence Macarthur got a heroes Welcome Complete with ticker tape Parade. But for those who prize the concept of civilian supremacy the firing of Macarthur was perhaps their finest hour. Schwarzkopf they would say when it comes to insubordination you re no Macarthur. The associated pres William f. Buckley feud cause for wariness a russian visitor was in new York the other Day and it is like the bad old Days we were requested not to identify him not even to give his profession. Why because the russians in Power might not like it and he is vulnerable. It would appear to be the end of glasnost. A a a a Quot a that ending is More or less formal with the promulgation by Mimi ail Gorbachev of a three week freeze on Public demonstrations. He cited As a reason for this the character of the demonstrators and of their Leader Boris Yeltsin a former colleague of Gorbachev. But then what is that in a country in which Trotsky was a former colleague of Lenin and of Stalin the Point of it is that Yeltsin and Gorbachev Are on a collision course and by the time these words Are printed we May know what Russia is in for in the Short run. Or. Ivan we will Call him tells us that the a military Industrial Complex is in charge of the soviet Union at this moment and in charge of Gorbachev. He goes so far As to say that 50 percent of the Gross National product of the soviet Union is going into the military. We have had estimates before As High As 35 percent. Fifty percent would be the equivalent of our spending $2.7 trillion on the Pentagon i.e., about nine times what we Are currently spending. There Are reasons for the very High expenditure says or. Ivan primary among them is the humiliation of the russian military in Iraq. It was an indirect humiliation in that the soviet Union was not directly involved. But its paraphernalia of War were everywhere russian tanks artillery and air planes. What the russians Learned is that their strategic weapons to one Side they Are not equipped to fight a modern War in the Best of times this ought not to worry the soviet Union Why does it want to fight modern War but in the internal debates the military says or. Ivan prevails by simply asserting that the soviet Union superpower cannot accept secondary status As a military Power. This Means Many things a among them that no economic Reform that would get in the Way of changeling the preponderant economic machinery of the country can be tolerated. Gorbachev who Only a year ago declared that the communist party a monopoly on political Power had to end is now reaching out for Means of re institutionalizing a communist Hegemony. The situation in Moscow is especially threatening in that the police there Are supposed to take their orders from the president of the Federated Republic of Russia which is Yeltsin. And indeed or. Ivan informed us that increasingly in order to maintain the kind of order he wants Gorbachev is required to use army personnel. It is not inconceivable he ventures that the police in Moscow and in the army will find themselves fighting each other. Gorbachev a special problem is that Yeltsin is manifestly the top hero of the people in the soviet Union. One needs to remind oneself that under marxism leninism it is the people who Are supposed to be the vehicle of historical determinism. It fits nowhere in soviet doctrine for the people to assert themselves in favor of reforms that the Kremlin opposes. Much May happen speedily. The formal discredit Tion of Yeltsin is one possibility the parliament that so narrowly elected Gorbachev might buy his line that Yeltsin has to be removed from his office As president of the Federated Republic of Russia on the grounds that he is a a undermining the state. But if that should happen says my. Ivan it is not predictable that the soviet army could quell the uproar. So we Are brought Back to the question of the military. Or Ivan draws attention to the failure to go through with the scheduled Salt reduction negotiations. And one is left asking the same question what uses do the hard liners intend to put their military to the easy answer is that the military is needed to control the soviet people. But to do that one does no to require technological sophistication cattle prods Are All you need to control mobs of unarmed citizens. Or. Ivan admits the possibility that the military wants All that Money simply As a matter of institutional Pride. But he says it is time once again to be wary. Universal press Syndicate
