Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

LeMay vs. MacArthur: A smackdown of the right-wing nut four-star generals

I’d kind of assumed that Gen. Curtis LeMay would be a fan of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, because both were right-wing nuts. So I was surprised to read this comment in an interview with LeMay: “I’ll pick out some people who were supposed to have been good leaders. Let’s take MacArthur. I wouldn’t follow that man ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
WikiCommons
WikiCommons
WikiCommons

I'd kind of assumed that Gen. Curtis LeMay would be a fan of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, because both were right-wing nuts. So I was surprised to read this comment in an interview with LeMay:

I’d kind of assumed that Gen. Curtis LeMay would be a fan of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, because both were right-wing nuts. So I was surprised to read this comment in an interview with LeMay:

“I’ll pick out some people who were supposed to have been good leaders. Let’s take MacArthur. I wouldn’t follow that man out to the outhouse because I don’t like him. I don’t like his methods …”

(P. 88, Charles Jones and R. Manning Ancell, editors, Four-Star Leadership for Leaders.)

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

Latest

Cold and Flu Season Stirs Dread in China

CIA Director Heads to Qatar for Hostage Negotiations

What Geert Wilders Wants in Europe

Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak

Will the World’s Biggest Emitters Finally Play Nice at COP28?
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    What Was Hamas Thinking?
  2. 2
    Is Portugal’s Golden Visa Scheme Worth It?
  3. 3
    America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose
  4. 4
    Cold and Flu Season Stirs Dread in China
  5. 5
    Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
  6. 6
    Hamas’s Political Leaders Aren’t in Charge

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.

Trending

  1. Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
    Argument
    Annie Sparrow

  2. What Was Hamas Thinking?
    Argument
    Tareq Baconi

  3. The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
    Argument
    Nona Mikhelidze, Nathalie Tocci

  4. Hamas’s Political Leaders Aren’t in Charge
    Argument
    Anchal Vohra

  5. America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose
    Shadow Government
    A. Wess Mitchell