Dubya is at it again: ignoring Mark Twain's advice to keep his mouth shut and let everyone think he is an idiot rather than to open it and remove all doubt.
In his recent jaunt through the former USSR in honor of the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in WW II, Dubya insisted more than once that "America was at least partly responsible for the Soviet take-over of Eastern Europe," and that Franklin Roosevelt's acquiesence to Josef Stalin at Yalta was a shameful moment in US (and thus world) history.
I am sure I am not the only person to notice that Dubya got several facts wrong in his little paean to freedom. I do believe, however, that I am at least among the first to note certain similarities in Dubya's own behavior to FDR's . . . ones that have apparently escaped Dubya's own notice.
First, note that a lot of what Dubya said specifically about FDR can be explained by the neocon's article of faith that FDR was a traitor to his economic class. Thus, in the neocon world view, any chance to trash FDR, no matter how tenuous in reality, must be taken. Who cares that Dubya's comments were for international and not domestic consumption? FDR must be trashed!
Second, if FDR was guilty of anything at Yalta, it was the mistaken belief that since he'd established a personal relationship with Stalin, he could work with the man and curb some of Stalin's more egregious impulses. Of course, FDR had no idea he'd shortly be dead. He also was sick enough at Yalta (just look at the photos if you don't believe me) to miss the fact that Stalin was playing both him and Winston Churchill.
Except for the being physically ill part, Dubya's own behavior toward Vladimir Putin bears a striking resemblance to FDR's toward Stalin. And Putin's behavior has belied, time and again, Dubya's insistence that since he knows Putin and believes he can work with him, Dubya can "control" Putin's (and by extension, Russia's) tendency to excess.
Right. And I can fly without an airplane or illegal drugs.
Third, and finally, anyone who knows ANYTHING about Yalta and what the Big Three powers agreed to there knows that Stalin promised to ensure full and free elections for postwar governments in the countries of Eastern Europe.
Stalin reneged. Further, as a practical matter, the Soviet Army already occupied most of Eastern Europe, and to dislodge it would require a shooting war . . . something no one wanted as WW II was ending or in its aftermath.
[Which leads me to another of my pet theories, that maybe we in the West were collectively wrong in casting the USSR as pure, 100% unadulterated evil. After all, while the USSR controlled Eastern Europe and had alliances with most of the Arab states, it kept the lid on. No Kosovos happened under Soviet domination, for instance. Nor any terrorist attacks on US soil.
[We also have to remember that to live in a free society is to accept a certain amount of risk. You cannot have real freedom and at the same time be entirely free from the risk of terrorism. It is impossible to have 100% of both at the same time. Just another bit of reality that has escaped Dubya's notice.]
So to blame "America" for the woes of postwar Eastern Europe is wrong. And stupid. And typical of Dubya. Trashing FDR matters more to him than his stated goal of ensuring the spread of democracy worldwide.
What is Dubya going to do about North Korea, anyway?
No comments:
Post a Comment