Shortsighted View of History

The Financial Times published an article today titled "History Leaves Bush and Blair Behind".

I don't know if it is because I'm not a 20 something gal, or what, but that title seems awfully shortsighted to me. I believe that ten years from now the worst thing we will have to say about Bush and Blair is that they did too little and too late.

The British would understand the "too little, too late" concept well. Neville Chamberlain did his best to make peace with Hitler and his radical Nazi regime. He even signed a treaty in good faith with Hitler that was supposed to keep Britain out of any conflict with Germany. Didn't do any good.

The Americans have also been bitten even though they tried to isolate themselves from conflict with the radical German Nazi regime. American merchant ships were continually attacked by German Sea Wolf raids, even though the merchant sailors were civillians and America was not at war with Germany. This happened in the 30s years before the official start of WWII. Economic sanctions against the Nazis were tried, but it only gave them more time to perfect their war machine.

Take note that Hitler's "Mein Kampf" is the highest selling book in Iran today under the title "My Jihad". They like it in Egypt, too.

More recently, look at the Vietnamization program under Lyndon Baines Johnson in the late 60s and early 70s during the Vietnam conflict (read "war"). The program was partially successful, but ironically a Republican candidate by the name of Richard Milhouse Nixon won the election in '72 by being the "anti-war" candidate. When Congress finally forced him to keep his campaign promises and pull the troops out of Vietnam, our enemies were immediately emboldened. And not just in Vietnam, either. They learned from us. They learned that if they could make the casualties high enough, and sustain the war long enough, that the Congress would wail like little children and clamor to bring the troops home in order to save their jobs. Sound Familiar?

History will show that there are always consequences for abandoning your allies in the middle of a conflict after you tell them stupid things like "we'll stay the course no matter what."

It is too early to decide that Bush and Blair are on the ash heap of history. The whining children we call our political leaders are reliving history.....again.

Great Movies!

We rented two fabulous movies this weekend, movies that we would not be ashamed to recommend to our parents or allow our teenagers to watch.

The first was Flyboys. This film is based on a true story about American Expatriates fighting with the French against the German Army in World War I as combat aviators. It highlighted the dedication and bravery of these men, and showed how they overcame their fear, difficult backgrounds, and racism. They became a highly decorated team of airmen who contributed to the fight against the proto-fascist German regime under Kaiser Wilhelm. This is a film about honor, courage, and fighting for what is right despite the frailties of humanity. No sex scenes, no bad language - only the best of human character values in this film. They were not afraid to show the horrors of war, either. The aerial combat scenes (dogfighting) were highly realistic.


The second movie we viewed was Luther. Although we don't get excited about "religious" movies, this one was different. Splendidly set in the real setting of Wittenburg and Worms and other German locations, the realistic costumes and sets are alone worth watching this film........
Ah, but the story line! Luther is shown as intelligent and sensitive. His compassion is his secret weapon. It went in the hearts and minds of not just the German people, but went toward changing the political mindset that we can think about ourselves, and that we can read the Bible in our own Language and make up our minds for ourselves. The corruption of the church at that time was such that people were manipulated into giving their meager cash and resources under the pretense of gaining heavenly favor, when in truth the money was going to build sumptuous accommodations for the pope and lavish houses of worship in Rome. Watch this film to see how deftly Luther deals with the spiritual and political intrigues that seek to hand his life over to the inquisitors. Note also, the bravery of Prince Frederick of Worms and the courage of the minor princes who stood up to the Holy Roman Emperor in order to transfer political power from the corrupted church officials and give it back to the people.

Did I Mention That I Am Proud of Our Military?

I really am. Our fine soldiers in Iraq and around the world are serving us in one of the highest ways they can - by literally laying down their lives for us by giving their time and sometimes their blood.

I also think we should have the will to win any war in which we are involved. Iraq is winnable; the war on terror is winnable; the war on Islamo-fascism is winnable - but it depends on how much we want to win and how much we want to deny the intent of our enemies.

Here is a must see trailer for a movie about our troops:

Outside the Wire