The Fellowship - doomed to fail

[Inziladun]

Those who knew Gandalf, such as most of the Council attendees, had enough trust in him that they were willing to follow his plan, no matter how vague its ultimate ending might seem.

Originally Posted by Faramir Jones

That said, I can still understand Denethor's anger, although the problem is that he himself didn't have an alternative plan other than to keep the ring safe in Minas Tirith, not using it until things were really desperate...

I think a big part of Denethor's issue was his lack of trust in anyone opposed to Sauron, if they weren't subordinate to him, or closely allied, as the Rohirrim. Really, it's amazing that he allowed Boromir to go to Rivendell at all. Makes one wonder if the thought of consulting Saruman about the dreams of Faramir and Boromir had crossed his mind, and, if so, why he didn't just do that.