Re: Similarities: Contemporary US and WWII Germany

Thanks for clarifying your point.

I still think the UN, the IMF and the WB should play a more prominent role in Iraq.  This is in spite of the fact that the UN allowed Iraqis to die under sanction policies.  We are all glad that Hussein is (officially) no longer in power.  It remains a fact, though, that the US broke international law by attacking Iraq.  Furthermore, Hussein may be gone (is he really) and the US has gained control over the Iraqi oil supply (most likely one of the prime reasons for attacking Iraq in the first place); the political situation in the region is more unstable than it was before. One reason being that Rumsfeld and Co have no interest and no clue what it takes for nation building as a foundation of a more stable environment.  I just wish the Bush administration would think one or two steps ahead instead of being captive to an outdated realist doctrine which does not belong to our century any more.

I agree with you that the Third Reich was driven by a military industrial complex.  It would be too easy to believe though that this was the only and most important driver.  

In addition, I want people to be a bit more cautious when referring to Germans during WW II as Nazis.  The Third Reich was ruled by a dictator (just as Hussein ruled Iraq); people joined the NSDAP, the party of the Nazi regime in order to survive.  Most Germans were forced to join the military (unless they were “true” Nazis). 

What I don’t like about the comparison of contemporary US and WWII Germany is that we would be comparing apples with oranges.  Bush is a democratically elected leader who is (more or less) following US law and swore an oath on the US constitution.  – Hitler, in contrast, was a tyran and dictator.  Believe me, there is absolutely no similarity between them.  And I personally don’t dare make any comparisons and we all shouldn’t.  This is in spite of the probable fact that there is a military industrial complex in contemporary US.  Remember, however, this has been so since the Cold War and you can find the MIC in many more countries.  Hence, the flaw in the comparison of contemporary US and WWII Germany.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: KenRichard2002@aol.com [mailto:KenRichard2002@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 5:47 AM
To: tjuli2001@yahoo.de
Cc: wsn@csf.colorado.edu
Subject: Re: Similarities: Contemporary US and WWII Germany

 

I don't agree with you that what Iraq really needs is assistance from the UN, the IMF and the WB.   The World Bank acts as an international pawn shop.  The wealthy, western nations providing the loans,  the economically distressed countries of the Third World losing their national patrimony in the bargain;  with the IMF dictating the internal economic and social policies thereafter.   The UN allowed more than one million Iraqi children to die under a harsh sanction policy.  Most nations of the world weren't even interested in having Kofi Annan as head of the UN.  Most nations of the world wanted to see Boutrous-Boutrous Gali Gali remain in that position but the US held sway.  Not very democratic.  With regards to Germany,  the point that I am trying to make is that the Third Reich was driven by a military / industrial complex not unlike that in operation in the US today.  War is a core industrial, economic and political phenomenon for the US.  If we had not declared war on international terrorism we would be having a major face off with the Chinese over Taiwan.  We find one enemy at a time,   trying not to break off more than we can chew so that we do not repeat the mistakes of Napoleon or Hitler and find our selves fighting on too many fronts at once.   I personally do not see how the US will survive with an antagonistic mentality.   When the Bush administration threatened to use violence against the Taliban if they refused to grant US oil firms concessions to allow a pipeline across their desert,  the result was the destruction on US soil on September 11, 2001.  Sure,  the US now has it's man in Kabul,  a former UNOCAL oil company salesman,
but look at the costs we are now incurring.