I was in the Army there in '52-'53, and I don't see any important similarity at all to the usual US "regime" change wars, mainly because of the political realities, and the (Korean) publics' ideas about them. It's no accident that there was no significant guerilla war at all. MacArthur's Inchon landing, which he should get full credit for, was not surpassed by anything Napoleon ever did, as far as I know. The North Koreans were decisively and totally defeated. As for the Chinese, it was a stalemate (We shouldn't say defeat, because, after all "it's still going on"...Yes, the General was wrong, but what he did right still outweighs it all. (Japan in its present state)'

.It simply is not like Vietnam at all. disigny

The Korean Veteran is correct. I too am a Korean War veteran and have made an extensive study of the war which it appears that Professor Stephen Sestanovich has not .

According to a review of Halberstan` s book by his friend and former executive editor of the New York Times, Max Frankel, Halberstam accuses MacArthur of the incursion into North Korea on his own and causing the Chinese to enter the war .

MacArthur was ordered to cross the parallel by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President Truman. It was approved by the the United Nations . This info is on the National Security Council`s resolution NSC-81 . See Clay Blair` s book, The Forgotten War, America in Korea 1950-1953 .pages 325-327 .

On September 30,1950, after the Inchon landing, Kim Il Sung, Premier of North Korea sent a telegram to Mao Zedong asking for aid. The Chinese Politburo met October 1 & 2 , and decided to enter the war . This was 5 days BEFORE the first American crossed the 38th Parallel We have these telegrams in English now. For more details I will send you free a copy of an article I wrote which ran in Airborne magazine Fall `98 . Also info on how to obtain a highly recommended 28 page booklet on, A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE KOREAN WAR ,

Jack D. Walker jdwal@hotmail.com