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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (168147)	8/6/2001 10:43:48 PM
From: gao seng	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

Truman didn't think communism was a threat. When Churchill made his "Iron Curtain" speech, Truman felt it was fair to invite Stalin's comments! Truman was a great president. But a little soft on the commies. Like J. Edgar who didn't think there was a mafia. A great piece on Vietnam: encarta.msn.com And an article from 1999 Architects of victory jewishworldreview.com -- I just finished reading "Architects of Victory" by Joseph Shattan, published by the Heritage Foundation. It traces the accomplishments of six towering figures principally responsible for the West's triumph over the Soviet Communist Empire in the Cold War. After arduous study, Shattan came to the conclusion that the ideas and actions of these people were indispensable to achieving victory: Winston Churchill, Konrad Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan. The book's six chapters are essentially mini-biographies of these men, emphasizing their major contributions to the West's victory. You can be sure that this book will not achieve prominence in the mainstream media because it debunks the anti-American conventional wisdom (as portrayed, for example, in CNN's documentary, "The Cold War") that President Truman started the Cold War, Reagan exacerbated it and Mikhail Gorbachev finished it. To be honest, I expected the book to be a dry, historical work. I couldn't have been more wrong. Shattan describes the emotions this project evoked. "I had not expected to find the entire experience so moving. Yet, how could anyone not be deeply moved after prolonged exposure to each of these great men?" Believe me, Shattan's passion in this enrapturing account is quite contagious. He describes Churchill as the visionary who first recognized as early as 1919 and reiterated in his 1946 "Iron Curtain" Speech in Fulton, Missouri, that the West could not merely coexist with Soviet Communism -- it would have to confront and defeat it. Of Lenin and Trotsky he wrote, "Theirs is a war against civilized society that can never end." Truman is credited for rejecting FDR's conciliatory policies toward Moscow and for the Greek-Turkish aid package, the Marshall Plan, the Berlin Airlift and NATO, all of which were crucial in preserving the integrity and security of Western Europe during these critical years. Konrad Adenhauer was the West German leader who was instrumental in aligning the pivotal West Germany with the West, over fierce internal opposition from nationalistic and socialistic forces. During the '70s, America and the West were floundering aimlessly in pursuit of a moral compass and foreign policy to replace the failed strategy of containment. Their answer came from an unexpected source. Deep inside the Iron Curtain bellowed the voice of Soviet dissident, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who provided a gut-wrenching first-hand account of the murderous and oppressive practices of the Soviet regime. His courageous words breathed new life into the West's demoralized and slumbering Cold Warriors. "Gulag Archipelago" and his other works laid the moral groundwork for the third and final phase of the war where the West would resoundingly triumph under the generalship of Ronald Reagan. Pope John Paul II's work in supporting Solidarity in his native Poland contributed mightily to the implosion of the already overextended Soviet empire. Shattan's tribute is fitting. "It is ironic that the empire built by Josef Stalin -- who had asked mockingly at Potsdam how many divisions the Pope had -- was brought down, in no small measure by a Pope who had nothing but words at his disposal." Ronald Reagan recognized the truth in what Churchill had trumpeted when no one was listening: The Soviet Union was an evil empire that we should engage and defeat. Accordingly, he adopted National Security Decision Directive 75, which called on the U.S. to take the offensive in the Cold War through "military strategy, economic policy, and political action." Reagan's ability to see the world clearly and his determination to act on that vision ultimately brought the Soviet Empire to its knees. What are the lessons? The Cold War was indeed a war, a war that would have victors and losers. Stalemate and neutrality were not options. Had the U.S. not geared up and dedicated its full resources to fighting this war, we may not have been victorious. It was a war whose stakes can hardly be overstated. Hanging in the balance was nothing less than the survival of Western civilization and its historically unparalleled experiment in freedom, democracy and capitalism. It was a titanic struggle between the forces of good and evil. For the complete article, go to: jewishworldreview.com --

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (168147)	8/7/2001 1:01:39 AM
From: Little Joe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

J.F. The problem with Viet Nam was that we didn't believe in the war and the tragedy was that we sent so many young men to die. There should be a simple rule, we don't commit our soldiers to a major war unless Congressman, Senators and the Prez are willing to send their kids into harm's way. The failure to provide emotional and moral support to those kids is a crime we as a nation should never forget. Unfortunately, I don't think we learned our lesson Little joe

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (168147)	8/7/2001 8:58:00 AM
From: H-Man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

During WWII FDR sent OSS troops to Indochina. The public reason was that the OSS was helping HO Chi minh fight the japanese. FDR in fact despised the colonialism of the french as well, and the OSS helped Ho in that regard too, although this is and was little known. The first US Soldier to die in VietNam was in September of 1945. The Viet Minh had mistaken the OSS man for a French guerilla. More than anything, it illustrates the fact that we were fighting on the side of Ho and knew he was fighting the French. Later When Ho declared independence, he did so with text written for him by the OSS. He petitioned for recognition of the government by the US, but in deference to the French, Truman did not do so. Based on this and some very clumsy acts by the French, Ho turned to the communists in China and USSR. As for LBJ it is quite well documented, that he was limiting his bombing targets, and infact he and Macnamarra were picking the targets, often letting strategic targets go untouched in Hanoi, to either not offend the russians or chinese. This despite recomendations from the military. Perhaps you should read "Dereliction of Duty" by H.R. McMaster. This book is also critical of the JCS for their infighting and political postitioning.

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (168147)	8/7/2001 1:26:59 PM
From: Mana	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

JF, How should we have fought the war: 1. Don't let your politicians pick the targets. That is exactly what LBJ and McNamara were doing. 2. Linebacker II should have started in 1965 instead of 1972. Many American lives would have been saved. afa.org Congress should have declared war against N. Vietnam. Then we could have gotten Hanoi Jane for treason. "Hanoi was off limits until Nixon took office." You are correct, I misspoke. There was "limited" bombing of Hanoi until Nixon started Linebacker II in Dec. of 72. When I get some time I will find you a link about Ho chi minh wanted Vietnam to become a territory. H-Man did a very good job explaining some of the facts to you. In the meantime, you can order the video I saw on the History Channel. store.aetv.com -Mana