There is no way that anyone wanted war at the end of WWII, with the possible exception of Patton. Blaming Truman for not dealing with the Communists then and there is pointless. Even the Yalta matter is overblown. First, Roosevelt was too tired and sick to take much initiative at Yalta. Second, the basic scheme of spheres of influence was decided by Churchill and Stalin, and Roosevelt mainly went along with Churchill. Third, the facts on the ground dictated the shape of the post- War world. The Soviet occupied sphere became the Warsaw Pact countries. The American occupied sphere became NATO. Churchill and Roosevelt had insisted upon free election in the Soviet sphere. The Soviets failed to honor that stipulation, and thus the Iron Curtain fell. Alger Hiss had little to do with what finally occured.
Similarly, in China Chiang Kai- Shek could not adequately control his own people, and the Communists took advantage of warlordism to gain control of territory. It is likely we would have had to go to war to preserve the position of the Kuomintang, and no one was really looking for that. It was less a matter of betrayal than a matter of exhaustion.
My point on Africa is simple: we are not in a position to act as the Imperial power throughout troubled regions. We cannot prevent the ascension to power of corrupt and/or tyrannical regimes. The best we can do is to act as a mentor, trying to convince people of the advantages of democracy and capitalism, giving them material help if we think they will use it wisely, or in case of emergent need. |
