Just passing this along — pretty terrific piece of satire by columnist Andrew Coyne, I thought. Tankies of WWII…
Excerpt:
September, 1939
“ … Don’t get me wrong, I have no use for Mr. Hitler, the man is a bully and a thug. And obviously what’s going on in Poland is awful, just awful. But what did we expect? Poland is practically in Germany’s backyard. It’s in its sphere of interest. I’m not saying it should be, I’m just stating a fact. There have been Germans living there for eons.
So the idea of Poland joining a mutual defence alliance with Britain and France, putting troops right on Germany’s doorstep – you know, talk about a red line. Couldn’t anyone see how it would leave Germany feeling encircled? No German leader could have accepted it …”
March, 1941
“ … What are we doing supplying all these arms to the British? Don’t misunderstand me, no one is a bigger admirer of the British than I am. So brave, the way they fight on, in spite of everything.
But isn’t this lend-lease deal simply prolonging the inevitable? It’s not the cost to the taxpayer I’m concerned about – although my God it does add up, doesn’t it? No, I’m talking about the cost in British lives.
It’s easy for these armchair generals to talk about the need to stand up to Mr. Hitler but I don’t see any of them enlisting. I have to ask: How long can this war go on? Do we keep sending Britain arms forever? I mean, what’s our exit strategy?...”
Link to the full piece:
www.theglobeandmail.com/...