Mobilizing For a Police Action

As news of battlefield defeats hit home, the administration tried to channel the public debate on how America ought to mobilize in this new, more dangerous phase of the Cold War. The instinct of Truman and his senior advisers was to remain cautious: they were still keen to stop the domestic mood from overheating, lest this result in overpowering demands to escalate the Cold War, perhaps even by launching a preventive strike against the Soviet Union. But, once again, this low‐key public posture provided Republicans with the opportunity to sharpen their political attacks. Some called for more vigorous mobilization efforts. Others pressed for a stronger stance toward communists inside America. With senior officials in the Pentagon also hinting that they favored a tougher Cold War posture, in August and September Truman moved to regain control of the debate.

Battlefield · Cold war · Instinct · Mobilization · Overheating (electricity) · Political science · Politics · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Engineering · History · Law · Military History and Strategy · Public Administration · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies