undermine the fragile armistice. He believed the Russian-made aircraft should be returned to its rightful owner as soon as possible, and to discourage other pilots from coming in from the cold, he wanted to cancel Operation Moolah. He also wanted to make sure that the North Korean pilot, whose name Eisenhower had yet to learn, would not blow the $100,000 on booze and broads. Better yet, he wanted to find a way to pressure the pilot to turn down the moolah altogether.

Eisenhower never made these views public. But they echoed long and loud in the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department, where subordinates spent the next year trying to thread a needle: keeping the president happy while keeping reporters from learning that Ike, the outwardly genialgeneral, wanted to pay out the reward money very slowly or not at all.

Eisenhower had flown out of Washington early on Monday morning, September 21, before reports about the MiG and the defector reached the White House. While he was giving speeches that day in Massachusetts, his national security team met and decided that even though the Korean War had ended, the United States must honor the commitment made in Operation Moolah. They authorized the Air Force to announce in Washington that afternoon that the reward would be paid. Air Force headquarters also sent a message to its Far East Command saying that Operation Moolah remained in effect and cash rewards for additional MiGs would be paid in the future.

Eisenhower hurriedly approved his security team’s decision during a