By December, public support for the war had fallen significantly, both Truman and his intelligence experts expected World War III to break out by spring, and Senator Joseph McCarthy was using the military setbacks in Korea to attack the administration and push his own political agenda.
到12月，公众对战争的支持率大幅下降，杜鲁门和他的情报专家都预计第三次世界大战将在春季爆发，参议员约瑟夫·麦卡锡正在利用在韩国的军事挫折来攻击政府并推动他自己的政治议程。