Statesmanship?

This is coolbert:

"an unabashed, revisionist reexamination of the entire war"

Thanks to the National Review Online [NRO] we have extracts from an article entitled:

"The Blunders of Statesmen"

"EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is adapted from Freedom Betrayed: Herbert Hoover’s Secret History of the Second World War and Its Aftermath"

HERBERT HOOVER - - 31st President of the United States completing a self-described magnum opus work "a comprehensive, critical history of American diplomacy between the late 1930s and 1945, with emphasis on the misguided policies of President Roosevelt."

[not merely limited to the policies of President Roosevelt alone!]

Hoover having begun his magnum opus in 1944, and only finishing just prior to his death in 1964. The book never published and after almost seventy years the original version now becoming available to the public!

Those mistakes made by the political leadership of what became the western allied powers prior to, during, and in the aftermath of the Second World War [WW2]. Statesmen operating at the highest level of international diplomacy and in the opinion of Hoover much to the disadvantage of the United States as led by President Roosevelt at the time!

Eighteen mistakes, blunders, serious errors of judgment of magnitude as listed by Hoover and made available for your perusal, in the "nutshell"!

1. "The first time (of importance) that Roosevelt became lost in international statesmanship was his destruction of the 1933 World Economic Conference."

2. "Roosevelt’s second lost statesmanship was in recognition of Communist Russia in November 1933."

3. "MUNICH . . . by Munich Hitler opened the gates for consummation of his repeated determinations to invade Russia. Having gone that far in providing for the inevitable war between the dictators"

4. "The fourth abysmal loss of statesmanship was when the British and French guaranteed the independence of Poland and Rumania at the end of March 1939"

5. "The fifth major blunder in statesmanship was when Roosevelt, in the winter of 1941, threw the United States into undeclared war with Germany and Japan"

6. "In the weeks before lend-lease and its war powers were forced upon the American people, Roosevelt knew definitely of Hitler’s determination to attack Russia, and he informed the Russians of it."

7. "Indeed the greatest loss of statesmanship in all American history was the tacit American alliance and support of Communist Russia when Hitler made his attack in June 1941."

8. "The eighth gigantic error in Roosevelt's statesmanship was the total economic sanctions on Japan . . . at the end of July, 1941"

9. "The ninth time statesmanship was wholly lost was Roosevelt’s contemptuous refusal of Prime Minister [Fumimaro] Konoye’s proposals for peace in the Pacific of September, 1941"

10. "The tenth loss of statesmanship was the refusal to accept the proposals that his ambassador informed him came from the emperor of Japan for a three months’ stand-still agreement in November 1941."

11. "The eleventh gigantic error in Roosevelt’s statesmanship was demand for 'unconditional surrender' at Casablanca in January 1943"

12. "The twelfth error of lost statesmanship was the sacrifice of free nations (the Baltic States, East Poland, East Finland, Bessarabia, and Bukovina) at the foreign-ministers meeting at Moscow in October 1943."

13. "The thirteenth and possibly one of the greatest of all confused wanderings in Roosevelt’s and Churchill’s statesmanship was at Teheran in December 1943. Here was confirmation of the acquiescence at the Moscow Conference of the annexations; here was the acceptance of Stalin’s doctrine of a periphery 'of friendly border states' — the puppet Communist governments over seven nations"

14. "The fourteenth fatal loss of statesmanship was by Roosevelt and Churchill at Yalta in February 1945. Not only were all Stalin’s encroachments on the independence of a dozen nations ratified, but with a long series of secret agreements other malign forces were set in motion"

15. "The fifteenth time of lost statesmanship was in respect to Japan in May, June, and July 1945. Truman refused to take notice of the Japanese white flags."

16. "The sixteenth time of blind statesmanship was Truman at Potsdam . . . the Communists had their way at every consequential point. The whole Potsdam agreement was a series of ratifications and amplifications of the previous surrenders to Stalin."

17. "The seventeenth wandering of American statesmanship was Truman’s immoral order to drop the atomic bomb on the Japanese"

18. "The eighteenth series of steps in loss of statesmanship was by Truman, Marshall, and Acheson in respect to China."

Agree or disagree or unable to make up your mind is left to the devoted reader to the blog without further comment on my part.

Keep in mind too that since 1964 a considerable amount of highly classified archival material and such has been made available THE CONTENTS OF WHICH AND IMPORT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO HOOVER!

Hoover was indeed at the time of his election felt to be the one man most prepared and suited to be President of the United States. Served as President during the time of the Great Depression [1929] and is widely reviled in many circles for having done "nothing" to ameliorate suffering of the common man at the time. Is not remembered for having very ably organized and led relief and reconstruction efforts in the aftermath of both the First and Second World War.

Hoover was again indeed a controversial leader during his lifetime and now so many years after his death will be once again the subject of controversy? We shall see!

coolbert.