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

To: Thomas M. who wrote (284307)	8/6/2002 11:38:22 PM
From: DavesM	Respond to of 769670

You are correct that Chomsky writes that the U.S. felt that Hitler and Mussolini represented moderates. What is not exactly clear, is whether he (Chomsky) believes that the U.S. felt Hitler and Mussolini were really "moderates", or "moderate compared to other fascists", or "moderate compared to any alternative leader for Germany and Italy". But Chomsky does write: "The chief of the State Department Western European Division, William Castle, recognized in 1926 that "the methods of the Duce are not by any means American methods," Castle then adds (IMO, a bigoted statement about Italians): "methods which would certainly not appeal to this country might easily appeal to a people so differently constituted as are the Italians." - indicating that the U.S. recognized that Mussolini was certainly not moderate on "American Standards" Chomsky also writes "The American chargé d'affaires in Berlin wrote Washington in 1933 that the hope for Germany lay in "the more moderate section of the [Nazi] party , headed by Hitler himself..." - this is not exactly the same as calling Hitler a "moderate". It is saying that there were more extreme wings of the Nazi Party than even Hitler. My guess is that even in the 30's the U.S. recognized that fascism was not "moderate" but the most moderate choice, among very bad choices...makes you wonder what the State Department thought was to the right of Mussolini or Hitler!

To: Thomas M. who wrote (284307)	8/7/2002 12:09:41 AM
From: Emile Vidrine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

JFK and Hitler's Place in History: In late July and early August 1945, just weeks after the end of the war in Europe, the 28-year-old John F. Kennedy visited Germany. Accompanying him was US Navy Secretary James Forrestal (whom President Truman later appointed as the first Secretary of Defense). Kennedy recorded his experiences and observations in a diary that was not made public until just a few years ago. (It was published under the title Prelude to Leadership: The European Diary of John F. Kennedy, Summer 1945 [Washington, DC: Regnery, 1995].) After touring many cities and military installations, Kennedy and Forrestal flew to Bavaria, where they visited the town of Berchtesgaden and then drove up to Hitler's mountain retreat, which was "completely gutted, the result of an air attack from 12,000 pound bombs by the R.A.F. [British air force] in an attempt on Hitler's life." They then ascended to Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" lair high in the mountains. Just after this visit, Kennedy wrote a remarkable commentary in his diary, dated August 1, 1945, about Hitler and his place in history: "After visiting these places, you can easily understand how that within a few years Hitler will emerge from the hatred that surrounds him now as one of the most significant figures who ever lived. He had boundless ambition for his country which rendered him a menace to the peace of the world, but he had a mystery about him in the way that he lived and in the manner of his death that will live and grow after him. He had in him the stuff of which legends are made." Less than a year after this European tour, Kennedy was elected to Congress in Massachusetts, beginning a political career that took him to the White House, and which ended suddenly with his death on November 22, 1963.