> Gautam wrote: > > An interesting counterfactual. My answer is, probably yes, > because they _weren't_ that harsh to Germany - not as harsh as > they certainly could have been, and certainly very gentle > compared to the settlement that Germany (for example) imposed > on Russia in 1918. Like Henry Kissinger, I would suggest that > the British and French mistake was to choose the middle path - > they either should have been _very_ generous, and reintegrated > Germany into the system immediately (as with France in 1815) or > very harsh, and split Germany up into many states too small to > be a threat to anyone.
But you see, the point is that there probably was probably a solution to be found. I tend to believe that the "very generous" solution would have been effective and that the harsh solution would have only prolonged the interval between the wars. > > All of which, however, is irrelevant to our current dilemma. > Saddam Hussein is in power in Iraq. Assad is in power in > Syria. Radical Islam does have great power in most of the > Middle East. The Taliban were in power in Afghanistan. Now > they're not. Perhaps there's a lesson in that, and how it was > achieved. Not with foreign aide. _After we win_ we should be > generous. That is in the best American tradition. But first > we have to win. Its just as relevant as your appeasement analogy, AFAIC, perhaps more so. You say they have "great power" but they have been unable, despite a tremendous effort for a half century, to destroy a tiny nation in their midst. They pose no threat to us _other_ than terror. You can't really believe that the West would succumb to their religious meme, can you? Please don't take this to mean that I am for any kind of "appeasement" of Hussein or Al Qaeda or of the Palestinians for that matter. Its my contention that the use of force should always be a last resort (as it clearly was in this most recent conflict). -- Doug Who might be through with 12 hr. shifts for a while!!!! email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.zo.com/~brighto "Now people stand themselves next to the righteous And they believe the things they say are true They speak in terms of what divides us To justify the violence they do" Jackson Browne, It Is One
