U.S./NATO Are Giving Putin The Idea They Are Weak/Afraid

In 1938, the United Kingdom and France signed the Munich Agreement (with Germany and Italy). The agreement, now known as the "appeasement", allowed Germany to seize the Sudetenland part of Czechoslovakia. They thought giving that land to Hitler would prevent him from starting another World War. They were wrong. It just made Hitler think the U.K. and France were weak, and only a year later he invaded Poland, starting World War II.

We seem to be seeing a repeat of history -- only this time it is Putin and Ukraine. The Western nations expect Putin's army to be successful in taking Ukraine, and they seem to be willing to let Putin gobble up that nation. They say opposing his aggression militarily would start a war -- possibly a world war. Isn't this just a modern version of appeasement?

The U.S. and NATO have applied some economic sanctions to Russia and are sending some weapons to Ukraine. The sanctions are meaningless. Putin is one of the richest men in the world, and if he were to lose 90% of his wealth, he would still be a very rich man. The sanctions will hurt the Russian people, but Putin doesn't care about them. He has an iron grip on power in that country, and if he can get the territory he wants, he's willing to let the Russian people suffer.

While the West is sending some weapons, they have refused to institute a no-fly zone because they think Putin would consider than an aggression. They also are refusing to allow Poland to send Soviet era jets to Ukraine (which Ukrainian pilots know how to use), for the same reason.

This is giving Putin the idea that NATO and the U.S. are weak and afraid of him. That will not stop him in Ukraine, and it will not keep him from attacking another country once successful there. Tyrants don't respect appeasement. It just makes them bolder. The only thing they respect is strength.

I'm not suggesting that NATO and the U.S. invade Russia. That would be dumb (and wrong). But they should at least institute a no-fly zone over Ukraine -- and let Ukraine have the Soviet era MIG's. 

Would Putin use nuclear weapons as he has threatened? NO! He knows that doing so would mean an instant reprisal from the United States (and he would no longer have a country)!

The West must show Putin they are brave enough and strong enough to defend democracy -- in Ukraine and elsewhere. That is the only way to stop a new world war. Anything less is just another step down the road to that war. Appeasement does not work! 

"Rosie The Riveter" Dies At Age 86

The above picture is of one of the most famous World War II posters produced in America.   It was painted in 1942 by J. Howard Miller for the United States government, and was used to motivate the civilian population to join the war effort -- especially to recruit women to work in war production plants.   Most Americans came to know the woman pictured as Rosie the Riveter.

Her real name was Geraldine Doyle.   As a 17 year-old she was hired as a metal presser in a steelworks factory, and a UPI photographer took her picture when he toured the factory.   Artist J. Howard Miller later used that picture as the model for his painting for the government.   The strange part is that even though the poster was widely distributed and has achieved a certain fame in American pop culture, Doyle never knew she had been the model it was based on for over 40 years.

Doyle was reading an AARP magazine in 1984 and saw her picture, which the magazine said was the inspiration for Rosie the Riveter.   In her later life she would autograph Rosie the Riveter t-shirts, posters and memorabilia, never charging for it.   In fact, she never made any money at all as the inspiration for the famous poster.

Perhaps the strangest part of her story is that she only worked at the factory for about two weeks.   When she heard of another woman injuring her hand there, she quit and went to work at a soda fountain and book store.   She was a cellist and didn't want to take the chance of hurting her hands.   She later married a dentist and had five children.

Last Sunday she died at the age of 86 in Lansing, Michigan.   While she may have only worked in a defense factory for a couple of weeks, her picture inspired countless Americans and was invaluable to the civilian war effort.   And she died as a pop culture icon.   Her alter ego as Rosie the Riveter will live forever.

A Shameful Moment In WWII History

The above picture shows the Free French troops entering Paris in triumph after its liberation in 1944. It is generally regarded as a jubilant moment -- the moment when French troops reclaimed their capital city. In reality, it probably should be remembered as one of the more shameful moments for the Allies (at least the United States, Great Britain and France).

Even at the start of World War II, a significant portion of the French Army was made up of colonial soldiers, especially those from Senegal. When Paris fell, 17,000 black French soldiers were in the French forces that surrendered. The Germans considered them sub-human and murdered them, rather than take them prisoner.

By 1944, a full 65% of the Free French Army was Senegalese, and they were looking forward to helping reclaim the French capital where so many of their comrades had been slaughtered. These colonial soldiers had fought bravely for years, but they would be denied their moment of glory in Paris.

Charles DeGaulle, the leader of the French forces, wanted the first soldiers to enter Paris to be his French troops. But the Allied commanders didn't want a majority of the first troops entering Paris to be black. After all, the Americans still segregated their own troops. The British also depended on colonial troops to a large extent, but they went along with the Americans in wanting Paris to be liberated by white troops only.

DeGaulle knuckled under to the Allied Command. He removed all the Senegalese troops from one of his divisions and replaced them with whites. When he couldn't find enough white French soldiers, he put Spaniards and some troops from North Africa and the Middle East in the chosen division -- the French 2nd Armor.

The Allies got what they wanted. The liberation of Paris was an all-white event. What should have been one of the most joyous moments of the war was turned into one of the most racist moments of the war for the Allies. It was shameful, especially since all three nations had many brave soldiers of color.