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Yesterday we noted some of the commentary on the revisionist account of World War II by novelist Nicholson Baker in his new book Human Smoke

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I have not read the book, nor intend to, but enjoyed reading Pryce-Jones taking the Sabre out in his review.

What’s also important in publishing this on Powerline is drawing historical perspective to the pacifists during World War II and today. Their childish belief that a flower in the barrel of a gun would have stopped Hitler as it will terrorism today is what gave strength to Hitler as it does now to our curent enemies. The most vivid example recently was the Iranian Navy taking British sailors prisoner. In retrospect, would have it been better to have dealt with the Iranians militarily at the time? In my opinion, yes, but to a pacifist that would be the moral equivalence of Churchills and Roosevelts war-mongering actions, and the belief that it led to World War II.

I was happy to hear one particular senior officer (name escapes me?) whose comment was (I paraphrase) “Don’t mess with the US Navy, we’ll respond severely.”

Let’s not make the same mistakes, or we’ll have another Hitler to deal with.

The problem with historical novels is that people who don’t know history tend to believe what the novelist says as “truth”.  Novelists are confined to the tactic of “speculation”, nothing more than extending the mind of the writers beliefs into the general population.

History is what the winners say it is!

We still believe that Lincoln’s “emancipation Declaration” freed slaves.  It didn’t “free” a single slave, nor did it apply to slaves held by northern states and there were thousands of them.
Worse yet, in those areas taken by the Union troops, the slaves were simply ignored. They lost their families, their jobs, and were just let to roam the countryside with no “plantation” to return to and no education.

jobroinc: “I was happy to hear one particular senior officer (name escapes me?) whose comment was (I paraphrase) “Don’t mess with the US Navy, we’ll respond severely.”

Well ...

We KNOW for sure it wasn’t the disgraced, and recently retired, Admiral Fallon.

Fight or Flight.

Fallon flew the coup when attacked by a few Iranians.

Just imagine, an American Flag Officer refusing to engage the enemy.

What would Nimitz, MacArthur, or Eisenhower say?

Pacifists have always been with us and always will be ... Sadly.

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