I am reading Thomas Ricks, The Generals. Ricks wrote the best journalistic histories on Iraq with Fiasco and Gamble. The Generals explores the personnel management style of Marshall and Eisenhower who over saw the US Military during World War II and its rise to world power status. Marshall and Eisenhower used to fire upper ranks for lack of performance regularly. The current military does not . Ricks is exploring why that management technique changed.

The US Generals in World War II for full of several egotistic and unusual personalities. One of which survived at the General level despite poor performance and extreme egotism; General MacArthur. He was disliked by the Australians who had to work with him and the Marine Corps who took the large brunt of Nimitz's island hopping strategy. When other generals were getting fired, why did MacArthur survive? Ricks' writes:

Simply removing MacArthur appears to have been out of the question. Whatever his military abilities, he seems to have been kept in command in the Pacific in part because his political standing made it easier to have him in the Army rather than outside of it, criticizing the President.

There is also the argument that FDR was juggling a political coalition that included anti new deal and isolationist conservatives along with midwestern pacifists. Having an anti new deal and conservative general in MacArthur as a hero kept those groups unified and focused on the war America was in. However;

Handling MacArthur as he [FDR] did may have been the right move for FDR in World War II, but by doing so, Roosevelt planted a political minefield for his successor. Eventually MacArthur would have to be dealt with, but that would be left to Harry Truman, a less artful man than FDR.

Truman ultimately relieved MacArthur during the Korean War which was unpopular politically. However, since the allies in the Korean War operated under the auspices of the UN many nations did not like that MacArthur was leading the allied forces. It is doubtful MacArthur had the confidence of the upper US military either. Today he stands as an example of what not to be as a General.

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