Although they could hardly bay for more war after three years of bloody stalemate in Korea, the GOP hard-liners did not like Ike’s decision to stop the war short of victory. As the Los Angeles Times put it, “The Old Guard is miserable about what’s happened at Panmunjom,” where the Korean armistice was signed. In order to shore up his right flank, Ike would have to show firmness in his policies toward Indochina lest he ignite a full-scale rebellion in his party over his Asia policy.
