CalendarReflections
June 22, 2008The Churchill Society of North Carolina invites comments from our members and readers. Please send your comments to dcraighorn@churchillsocietyofnorthcarolina.org.
Reflections on the recent Newsweek article, “What Would Winston Do?” from a Churchill Centre member.
Good articles and, might I humbly suggest, points that would have been made to Bush by a Secretary of History in his cabinet and also points that should be made by a Churchill Centre for the Study of History.
As for worship of Churchill, it is really remarkable how his legacy really depends on Americans and, proportionately Canadians. Almost all Brits I meet in this side of the Atlantic have no use for him and think of him as a relic of Victorian aristocracy.
As for John McCain and the references to him and his father in Newsweek - I have been reading much of the Johnson/Nixon years lately and learned that Nixon visited McCain's father, commander of Pacific forces, in Honolulu and was convinced by Admiral McCain to invade Cambodia. We know what happened - American forces were forced to withdraw and the invasion lead directly to the Kent State crisis which reverberated throughout the rest of the war. Pray it is not "like father, like son".
It is also interesting that most of the Vietnam war veterans are opponents of the Iraq war and some have suggested that while they had to face the enemy at close quarters during battle and directly observed what was happening on the ground, McCain never did. Many of the veterans came home opposed to the war after being order to burn villages and shoot civilians or merely observe the results of the bombing - which exceeded all the bombs dropped on Europe and Asia during WW2.
As to the references to negotiations in Newsweek- don't forget that Churchill was willing (and almost did) to meet Hitler in 1932 and it was Hitler who did not go through with the arrangements.
Chamberlain is maligned for negotiating with Hitler when the issue is not that he negotiated but what he gave away during those negotiations - mainly the natural fortifications of the Sudetenland (which are quite apparent as you drive them it) and the Czech armaments industry.
You make peace by talking to the enemy, not by talking to your friends.