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You sound like the type who believes that the US won both WWI and WWII

Well, in December of 1941, only the UK remained in the West, and they were hanging on by their fingernails and would have starved in less than a year. And Comrade Joe was back pedaling so fast he would have bumped into Tojo before long. I guess without America to deal with in the Pacific, Tojo would have had an open dance card for old Joe in Siberia. I seem to recall Stalin was really hurting for some hardware from those evil American capitalists. (built with the blood of downtrodden American workers of course).

Now you want to tell me that Europe would have beat Hitler without the US? Go ahead.... tell me that. It must be in one of your revisionist history book somewhere.

... and brought the idea of democracy to Europe, without which Europe would still be in the Dark Ages. Am I wrong? I hope so.

Which part of Europe? The part East of the Elbe was pretty much dark age in terms of democracy until recently. Poland had some history --- Czech republic a little less, but the rest had spent all of history under the feet of tyrants. Did America have a part in freeing those people? What do you think?

As to Western Europe, Comrade Joe had his people all set to take over after WWII. France, Italy, Belgium. All they needed was bunches of hungry people. They got foiled by a little bit of American imperialist foreign policy called the Marshall Plan then another bit of interventionist empire building called the Berlin Air Lift. Then there was all those times in the 50s and 60s where those ugly American flexed their muscles at Checkpoint Charlie. Those damn Americans.... always messing around in other people's business. They sure took all the fun out of European politics. The Europeans had it down to a good knock down drag out war every generation and America messed around so much that its been 50 years since they went for each others throats. Hell, they even use the same currency now! God knows when the next time we’ll get to see the Germans beat the snot out of the French. What party poopers.

I bet you want to tell me that Hitler would have been defeated without America and the Europeans would still be getting their 6 weeks of vacation in the Caribbean from the State Commissars if America hadn’t insisted on Democracy for Europe after WWII. I know you want to tell me that. Go ahead.

If you are spoiling for a fight go elsewhere. You seem to have reeled off this sort of thing many times before because you do not answer what I said at all. Is this your stock-rant for multiple purposes? For instance, you imply that I have made some Marxist revisionist comments, which I somehow cannot recall doing. Anyway. Let's try to say something useful. It is of course impossible to say whether European countries would have beaten Hitler without the USA. No doubt it would have taken a lot longer, but Hitler might have dug his own grave in Russia (as he in fact to a large extent did) just as Napoleon did before. There is no doubt about the American contribution to the war. And, don't worry, I am perfectly grateful for that, if only because it liberated my parents. But in terms of suffering one has to be fair and conclude that it were the Russians and the British who bore the brunt of the war.

I'll bring another point to your attention. And I happen to know this professionally. Uncle Joe did not aim to take the whole of Western Europe over. He was perfectly happy to undermine Western Europe through his usual subversive activities but he had no intention to Sovietize it.

Secondly, I asked about the idea of democracy and suddenly, zoooooooooom, off you go into some summary of Cold War history as perceived by an American. Your rant seems to imply that America fed Western Europe and somehow kept the peace there; without the US those silly Europeans would never have eaten again and only been at each others' throat (perhaps out of hunger). The Marshall plan was a good thing as well as the Berlin airlift. But no effort was made on part of the West-European nations to rebuild their countries and to create their own prosperity? And their was no perfectly understandable self-interest in the Marshall plan? And West-Europeans never had any idea that war was bad and peace was good? They had no hand in keeping peace in their countries after WWII? They had no idea about what democracy meant let alone ever experience it?

You see, your rant reveals you treat Europeans like children. I think I was right in my original question. You seem to think that without the glorious Americans Europeans would still be living in the Dark Ages. And that is a-historical, to say the least.