IT WILL BE THE DEATH OF LIBERALISM

CHRONWATCH.COM ^ | OCTOBER 10, 2004 | RAYMOND S. KRAFT

[Restorer]

in outrage Congress unanimously declared war on Japan, and the following day on Germany, which had not attacked us.

Not entirely accurate. US declared war on Japan on the 8th, but not on Germany till the 11th, in response to Hitler's Declaration of War on the US earlier that day.

This was solely Hitler's decision, and the US might not have gone to war with Germany without his doing so, at least not right then. After all, the Soviet Union fought Germany without fighting Japan.

[NewJerseyJoe]

> America's allies then were England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Australia, and Russia, and that was about it.

FDR should have given more time, to bring our allies to the table. Those countries mentioned were a coalition of the coerced and bribed.

[Stellar Dendrite]

Great piece

[Mike Fieschko]

Good article, but I wish he had gotten this right:

America's allies then were England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Australia, and Russia, and that was about it.

Ireland was neutral. (England and Scotland weren't allies, the UK was.)

[AJS]

As much as I agree with this premise, how do we avoid the left saying this was not the primary reason given for going to Iraq and thus this is just rationalizing?

[Stellar Dendrite]

"After all, the Soviet Union fought Germany without fighting Japan."

Just think, about 2 years earlier the Soviets and Germans invaded Poland together.

[dasboot]

Wish I could buy a full page in the NYT and WP for this.
Nice job, author.

[L`enn]

''Peace Activists'' always seem to demonstrate where it's safe and ineffective to do so: in America. Why don't we see liberal peace activists demonstrating in Iran, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, North Korea, in the places in the world that really need peace activism the most? And they missed marching in the Soviet Union and have never been seen in China. Coincidence?

[El Sordo]

Bump-a-roo

[King Prout]

great article.
some minor errors, but overall a great piece.

[chaosagent]

ping

[sarasmom]

BTTT!

[Tribune7]

America's allies then were England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Australia, and Russia, and that was about it.

It wasn't quite that bleak. England included India (which included Pakistan) and most of Africa. And China is glaringly left out.

Most of the world was on our side.

[Frumious Bandersnatch]

Not to mention the fact that Russia was still allied with Germany at that time. Also, although it may have taken longer, I think that the eventual result would have been the same. That was because the Allies controlled the seas. The author is forgetting the atom bomb. I doubt that we would have hesitated to use it on Germany to make our point.

[GW and Twins Pawpaw]

I have heard that US combat deaths in Iraq are around 750 and the others are accidents, disease, etc., for a total of ~1,000 Also, IIRC, Germany had been part of the Tripartite (war pact treaty) and was obligated to declare war on any country that declared war on another treaty member. So in declaring war on Japan we knew that war would soon be declared on us by Germany and Italy.

[Auntie Dem]

If the liberals can just get an opportunity to explain to the Jihadis that they mean them no harm. The Jihadis will leave them alone, and the liberals can pursue their American dream of free, easy access to abortions, the celebration of diversity that demands conformity, and the practice of tolerance that is intolerant of anyone not like them.

I'm sure the Jihadis will understand--don't you?

[Wilhelm Tell]

FDR should have given more time, to bring our allies to the table. Those countries mentioned were a coalition of the coerced and bribed.

And Britain should not have rushed to war. Everyone should have given Hitler just one more chance. After all, we're all reasonable men but alienating Hitler might turn him into some sort of extremist. I know! Let's all sign a treaty! A really nice treaty that will have really nice promises in it! It would say really nice things about us if we were to sign such a nifty treaty. Why, we could wave this treaty around and declare "Peace in our time!" And we could feel really nice about ourselve because we signed a really nice treaty with really nice promises. Oops, been there, done that -- it didn' work. Never mind!

[Mrs Zip]

ping

[Restorer]

Not to mention the fact that Russia was still allied with Germany at that time.

Germany invaded Russia on June 22, 1941. On December 11, 1941, Hitler declared war on the US, which responded in kind.

The amazing thing is that a rational person would have assumed that Hitler already had his hands full. Why did he choose to take on the US while still fighting Russia?