TallDave wrote:Like Europe at the end of WWII. We did our best to shore it up, but at the same time knew the best way to beat the Soviets was to wait them out. Finishing the fight then would have set Europe back 100 years or more.
No, in fact not letting Patton go to Prague and eventually Moscow was probably the biggest mistake of the 20th Century. We could have avoided the entire Cold War. Russia had no air force or navy to speak of, it was entirely doable. And we certainly never should have armed them via Lend-Lease; 2/3 of their six-wheeled trucks were made in the U.S. It was an alliance that benefitted them far more than us.
Oooooohhhh, I'm not even a big history buff, but I have to jump in here. From MY reading of history, had we NOT armed and supplied the Russians, the Germans would have won. It was a near thing anyway. If I remember correctly, the Battle of Stalingrad was very nearly lost. Had the Germans won it, they would have had unencumbered access to Russian Oil Fields, and would have been able to fuel their war machine from beyond our bombers range.
As it was, Had the Germans just a little more force to throw at Stalingrad , the Wehrmacht would have won. If I remember correctly, we have the Italians to thank for the Russian Victory in Stalingrad.
Why the Italians? They invaded Greece and proceeded to get their asses handed to them. Hitler had to divert an entire division from the Battle of Stalingrad to go down to Greece and save their butts. Because that division wasn't available at the crucial time, the Russians Won the Battle of Stalingrad, and thus the war.
Anyway, As much as I dislike the fact, we pretty much HAD to supply the Russians.
TallDave wrote:
Just imagine if China and the rest of SE Asia had never gone Communist. Human civilization might be decades ahead.
ANOTHER POINT! I've pointed out before, but probably no one remembers. President Harry Truman (Democrat) denied a request by Chiang Kai Sheik for the United States to supply his Nationalist Chinese Forces with troop transport aircraft with which he intended to pursue and wipe out Mao Tse Tung on his Long March.
Had Truman assented to the gift or loan of US Transport Aircraft, We might never have had a Communist China, and as a result, no Korea, No Vietnam, No Killing Fields, and millions of people need not have died.
I keep making this point. Democrat Presidents are LETHAL. But the Cause and Effects are so far separated in time, that most people are completely unaware of the connection.