[kralcmot]

"Nations like the Soviet Union, Britain, Germany, Japan and China were near ruin. Their populations were demoralized, their military forces and arsenals depleted. Their cities and towns were demolished. We could easily have conquered the world."

we could have easily conquered the world????

easily???

forgive me, but i cannot agree

History is littered with attempts to conquer the world.

(reference a recent thread on FR about the difficulties we would have had just conquering Russia....discussing the "Patton plan")

That we did not attempt it speaks to our understanding or the difficulites involved,

as well as the simple fact that we don't want it

which was the author's point, anyway

[wvobiwan]

I agree, it wouldn't have been easy, but it was distinctly possible at the end of WWII, considering the state of the US war footing at the time. The author is correct about that.

History is replete with examples of US altruism, the world likes to forget in their self-interest:

Returning Phillipines, Cuba, Nicaraugua, countless islands in the Pacific (many who then voted to become American protectorates or states), Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq, and MANY other nations to self-rule. No other country in the history of the world has better honored it's international treaties and pacts.

[Hardastarboard]

Sorry to bother you, but I didn't see that thread about the "Patton plan" to conquer Russia. Can you provide the link? Thanks greatly.

[Dumb_Ox]

Terribly hubristic to imagine we are or were capable of taking over the world. People were tired of the war, war was a net drain on the economy, and our nuke production hadn't even entered mass production yet. Our wartime propagandists had also been pushing the USSR as our brother in democracy, and there were even still a few Nazi partisans running around after the surrender that needed killing.

Talk of the US conquering the earth never rises above late-nite drunken dorm room bull sessions.