To some, Winston Churchill was a hero.
To the families of US troops killed during WWI, he was--indirectly--a murderer.
In 1907, Britain launched the Lusitania, “the greyhound of the sea,” the
fastest passenger ship afloat. In 1913, Churchill called in the head of
Cunard and said Lusitania would have to be refitted for a war he
predicted would break out in September 1914....
Following some chicanery by Churchill--who was First Lord of the Admiralty at the time---...
...German naval commanders began to order submarines to sink merchant ships on sight....
A practice with which a Brit naval commander approved.
...Churchill, seeing an opportunity to bring America into Britain’s war,
wrote the Board of Trade: “It is most important to attract neutral
shipping to our shores, in the hope especially of embroiling the United
States with Germany. … We want the traffic—the more the better—and if
some of it gets into trouble, the better still.” ...
Of course, Woodhead Wilson was complicit; he refused to keep US citizens off British ships and out of war zones, and he would NOT prevent US flagged ships from carrying war materiel.
On May 1, 1915, Lusitania set sail from New York. As Windchy writes, the
ship “secretly carried munitions and Canadian troops in civilian
clothes, which legally made it fair game for (German) U-boats....
...German diplomats in New York warned American passengers they were in
danger on the Lusitania. And instead of sailing north of Ireland to
Liverpool, the Lusitania sailed to the south, into waters known to be
the hunting ground of German submarines....
Yah. Then came Versailles, followed by the rise of Hitler and WWII.
Thanks, Winston!
"Of course, Woodhead Wilson was complicit; he refused to keep US citizens off British ships and out of war zones, and he would NOT prevent US flagged ships from carrying war materiel."
ReplyDeletePer usual, you are clueless about American history. First, Germany took out ads in major American newspapers to warn citizens that if they traveled on American or foreign ships, they could expect to be blasted. American citizens choose NOT to heed their warnings. It's called individual responsibility.
Second, WIlson reiterated to citizens the United States would not be held accountable should they travel to Europe. Refusing to keep Americans off the ships equates to taking away their liberty to freely choose when and where to travel. It's called individual responsibility.
Ooohhhh...Mitchell, the Historian!!
ReplyDeleteAs usual, not much of a logician, though. You concede every point I made and pick nits.
Never noticed your adoration of 'individual responsibility' when discussing the Progressive Welfare State, John...
drawn here by a review of Windchy's "Twelve American wars: Nine of Them Avoidable."
ReplyDeleteRe. the ads, Global Research claims:
"The German embassy in Washington even took the precaution of placing an advertisement in 50 U.S. newspapers warning civilians not to sail on the Lusitania. Due to the intervention of the State Department most of the notices were not published. However, the Des Moines Register carried the following advert which was placed beside an ad for the Lusitania…"
Anyone know how the actual publications of the ads, and what/who was involved in their not being published?
Thanks
PS Wouldn't "individual responsibility" only have meaning under conditions of non-interference with information? ;-)
in case folks are interested the review was by Pat Buchanan, and Global Research article is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://bit.ly/1v3FXmB
I'll take your answers straight sans the ad hominem remarks, should you honor me with a reply. Just trying to know the "truth", little "t", to the extent it is possible
http://alfredmeier.me/2012/09/10/reality-can-be-complex/