The story of Neville Chamberlain is a story of failure, ignorance, and appeasement. Like today's American (and international) liberal left, Neville Chamberlain believed that tyrants can be negotiated with. He believed that making a deal with Hitler, which included giving up a smidgen of what Hitler desired in what became a sell-out of Czechoslovakia by the other European nations, would bring about "Peace in our time!"
Underestimating how determined Adolf Hitler was in his lust for conquest, Britain and France emboldened Germany to embrace war through Neville Chamberlain's failed policy of appeasement. European dominance was the goal of Nazi Germany. Hitler demanded Sudetenland, a former part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire given to the new country of Czechoslovakia after World War I. The Sudeten Germans, Hitler argued, belonged as a part of Germany.
Adolf Hitler convinced the appeasers of the time that all he wanted was the Sudetenland. He never revealed that his ambitions extended beyond the German section of Czechoslovakia.
Unrest was rising up in Czechoslovakia along Germany's border. The Sudeten Germans were discriminated against in the new country, and were calling for German intervention. The escalating crisis was becoming the perfect excuse for an invasion. Hitler said it was his "staunch desire to wipe Czechoslovakia off the map."
None of the regional powers, from Paris to Moscow, could prevent a German invasion of Czechoslovakia. Britain's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain belonged to a school of thought that believed Germany could be negotiated with and brought back from the brink of war. Appeasement would be the proposal - an agreement not enforced by violence, but one that appealed to the emotions of world leaders and intellects. Chamberlain advocated pacifism: War has no winners. If we look the other way, and make friends with Hitler, he suggested, there will be peace in our time.
Besides, Stalin's Soviet Union had murdered over a million people, while the terror of Nazism was only responsible for several thousands by 1938. Chamberlain saw Hitler as more moderate than Stalin, and assumed he would be easier to negotiate into an agreement of mutual cooperation. Besides, a strong Germany may serve as a stabilizer in the region, when considering the communist beast to the east of Western Europe.
In the agreement Hitler was given free rein to handle the Sudeten situation in Czechsolovakia as he desired, regardless of the protests by the Czech government.
When Hitler moved German troops into Czechoslovakia for invasion, he exposed western Germany. The appeasers desired to avoid war at all costs, and did not take advantage of the opportunity to wound Nazi Germany before the German War Machine gained momentum. They believed war could be avoided by just waiting, negotiating, and allowing things to settle. Western Europe failed to recognize that tyrants cannot be appeased, and use such events to gain ground. Tyrants see pacifism as weakness, and are emboldened to continue upon their path of destruction.
The appeasers were puzzled over Hitler's personality and destructive aims - as they are today over the motives and plans of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Today's story about the West's dealings with Islam is a story of failure, ignorance and appeasement. The liberal left believes Islam can be negotiated with, and if we are just their friends, they will keep the fighting among themselves and leave us alone. Iran has emerged as the greatest threat in the region, openly developing a nuclear armament while denying their nuclear plans to the appeasers.
The leftists are underestimating Ahmadinejad's lust for the rise of a worldwide Islamic caliphate. Obama, and the international leftists of the United Nations, are emboldening Iran, and Muslim terror groups, with their failing policies of appeasement. Islam demands Israel, indicating that the land the tiny nation sits upon belongs to the Muslims of Palestine, and to Islam. They have convinced the appeasers that all they want is Israel, because the Palestinians in the Jewish country are being discriminated against and are calling for intervention. The escalating crisis of Palestine is becoming the perfect excuse for an invasion against Israel. The leftists reject the idea that war is coming in the Middle East, even though Islamic national leaders like Ahmadinejad openly proclaim their staunch desire to wipe Israel off the map.
The western nations can prevent war in the Middle East. Iran has not yet crossed the line that would make them a nuclear threat, but they are on the verge of it. However, leaders like Barack Obama believes Iran can be negotiated with and brought back from the brink of war. Appeasement is their proposal - an agreement not enforced by violence, but one that appeals to the emotions of world leaders and intellects. The American Democrat Party, along with the international leftists, advocates pacifism: War has no winners. If we look the other way, and make friends with the Muslims, including Ahmadinejad, there will be peace in our time.
Besides, China and North Korea have been a bigger concern. China is not playing by the economic rules by manipulating the value of their currency, and North Korea already has nuclear weapons capabilities and have proven to be a threat to the world. As far as the leftists are concerned, it is easier to negotiate into an agreement of mutual cooperation with Iran. Besides, a strong agreement with Iran may serve as a stabilizer in the region, when considering the civil wars erupting as a result of the Arab Spring.
As the 2012 election approaches, President Obama has made an agreement with Iran in what is being called a “last ditch diplomatic effort to avert a military strike on Iran.” The agreement gives Iran free rein to back Hezbollah and Hamas and other enemies of Israel. It also allows Iran to continue to deny democracy to their own citizens. The agreement leaves Iran free to threaten not only Israel, but the rest of the Middle East, and to work on an entente with Egypt, among others, to encircle the Jewish state.
When Chamberlain appeased Hitler, the very attempt was based on a delusional belief that there was no danger in making deals with the German Fuhrer. The same applies when dealing with Iran. Strength is the better path to avoiding war, not appeasement and looking the other way. The appeasers desire to avoid war at all costs, and are not taking advantage of the fact that Iran is still not yet a nuclear power, and a strong stance will keep them at bay. They believe war can be avoided by just waiting, negotiating, and allowing things to settle. The West fails to recognize that tyrants cannot be appeased, and will use this sign of weakness to gain ground. Islam sees pacifism as weakness, and are emboldened to continue upon their path of destruction.
The appeasers were puzzled over Hitler's personality and destructive aims - as they are today over the motives and plans of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the larger jihad being waged by Islam.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Obama's October Surprise - The New York Sun
Faster, Please! >> The October Surprise - PJ Media
The Road to World War II: How Appeasement Failed to Stop Hitler - Spiegel Online International
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