bflr
Fascinating discussion here. My mother said aboutMacArthur that people either loved him or hated him.I see that still holds.
This is an extremely inaccurate article. The Philippines had been deemed indefensible for decades. War Plan Orange, the American guide for war in the Pacific against Japan, dictated that the Philippines were to be abandoned - they were too exposed, too close to major Japanese bases in Formosa, and the supply lines across the Pacific too great. Instead, the plan called for a withdrawal to the eastern Pacific, while superior American industry built up an overwhelming naval force. Then, in two to three years, America would go on the offensive, taking strategic islands as bases and retaking the Philippines. US strategy in the Pacific was basically a variant of the pre-war Plan Orange.
It was the Army, lobbied by MacArthur, that ignored the Navy’s plan, and started building up forces in the Philippines, despite the fact that the Navy had no plans or capability to support and resupply them. War Plan Orange, by Edward Miller, is a great book about this, really goes in depth about the topic. I highly suggest it.