World War II

None of the leaders of the West understood that Fascism was containing Communism free-of-charge. Instead of letting them go at it, the Brits and the French declared "a war of revenge" [Neville Chamberlain's words to Joe Kennedy] on Germany that they could not win. The Brits threw down their weapons after two weeks of engaging the Germans and ran home. The French threw down their weapons and surrendered in six. Together they had lost their land war in Europe! There is no way, morally, strategically or constitutionally to justify FDR's wasting young American lives bailing out Britain and France from their own folly, PLUS Hitler's partner in dividing Poland, Stalin! Basically, it was masochism: We had to punish our enemies no matter what the cost to ourselves! "We have to remember that twice in the 20th century, Europe came close to committing suicide by wars that in retrospect seem senseless." Paul Johnson. "To save your world, you asked this man to die. Would this man, could he see you now, ask why?" W.H. Auden. Motivated by the same sort of arrogance as Neville Chamberlain, FDR provoked Japan's attacks on P.H. and P.I. by embargoing her scrap steel, oil, and financial credits, and then forced us to chase her all the way home at vast cost in lives and destruction (69 cities destroyed on her home islands). We did not need to invade her. We did not need to force a beaten foe to surrender, and we certainly did not need to use "those awful things" [Ike's words]. Surrounded as she was by the U.S., USSR, Korea, China, Indo-China, Burma, India, Australia, et al., all bitter enemies of her and all good fighters, Japan had been DOA for years. We never should have provoked her, we never should have avenged her attack on P.H.(a pure military target), and we never should have destroyed her. All we had to do and should have done was to get out of the P.I., leave our Pacific Fleet on the West Coast [FDR ordered it moved to P.H. to intimidate Japan against the advice of his admirals], and watch it all unfold. hm