Eisenhower tried to walk a fine line: he accepted MacArthur’s offer to meet and discuss Korea, though he privately dismissed MacArthur’s plan, which was little more than an atomic ultimatum to the Reds: end the war in Korea or experience all-out atomic attack. Instead Eisenhower issued a statement that was measured and restrained: there was “no simple formula for bringing a swift, victorious end” to the Korean War; he
