[Thermodyne]

Originally posted by rextorres:
Well the Germans used that same exact argument as they were rolling across the Soviet Union. The only difference was that instead of firebombing people (the firebombing was a terror weapon btw) they rounded them up and shot them. I don't think you believe this. So how is it OK in one instance and not the other?

Which argument are you speaking of?

And I doubt you know much of what I do or don’t believe. I know that the Germans killed many civilians by mass execution. I also know that the resistance was a big problem for the Germans. They in turn relied on terror as a means of countering this activity. I also know that in many areas of the western Soviet Union, the Germans were initially seen as liberators. I guess it was the lesser of two evils logic at work there. But I also have no love for the Russia of Stalin. It must have been very distasteful to have to sit down with them as allies.

Don’t misunderstand me here; I am not a supporter of the German involvement in the war. I do have a certain amount of respect for the skill with which the military practiced the art of war. But I do not support the reasons for it or the actions of the government and it special organizations. And I also have nothing but contempt for the existing command structures that existed in the allied camps at the start of the war. England was poorly led at the start and the inaction of the government after declaring the war was borderline stupidity. And they continued to be poorly lead all through the war. This was offset by exceptional political leadership in large part. And as for the French actions, well let’s just not go there. There is nothing good that can be said of it. As for America, we were not much better off. We were reliant on out of date ideas and technology, and totally unprepared. The fact that we were able to reverse this in less than two years is a tribute to the abilities of the American people of the times.