--- Julia Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Um, didn't Germany declare war on the US shortly > after Pearl Harbor? > > Julia
Absolutely. But FDR made a strategic decision - he actually made this _before the war began, by the way - to concentrate American forces on the defeat of Germany first, instead of on the defeat of Japan. He did this despite the strenuous opposition of very powerful people in Washington. In fact even before Japan attacked FDR had massively violated US neutrality to aid Britain, doing things like declaring Iceland to be part of North America so that US Navy ships could protect British convoys during much of the Atlantic crossing (really!). He lied about this merrily up and down. Do I condone that? No, I do not. But I don't think Bush lied either. The concept that Tom is struggling with is _mistake_. It is possible to be wrong about something and not lie about it. But if you're going to rant about lies all the time, you have to deal with the fact that one of the three greatest Presidents in American history incontrovertibly "lied us into war." Had FDR not done so much to help Britain already, we have to wonder if Hitler would have declared war on the US at all after Pearl Harbor. In either case, though, FDR's understanding that the war was about more than just defeating Japan is perhaps the moment that most marks him as a great President. Bush's understanding that protecting the US from terrorism involves more than hunkering down under a bunker and begging for mercy - that it necessarily involves an _offensive_ posture designed to drain the swamps that generate terror - is the one that will define his Presidency. If we are lucky and all goes well in Iraq, it will work out very much for the better. If it does not, the defeat of Saddam Hussein and the conspicuous exercise of American power will still have achieved a great deal. Now, at least, we have a chance. A small one - I rate the odds that Iraq becomes a stable democracy in the near term at no better than 1 in 5 - but a chance nonetheless. ===== Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Freedom is not free" http://www.mukunda.blogspot.com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway http://promotions.yahoo.com/design_giveaway/ _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
