[lit-ideas] More on the Industry of Defeat
- From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Lit-Ideas" <Lit-Ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007 09:01:57 -0700
http://www.opinionjournal.com/federation/feature/?id=110009203
This is another interesting article quoted by Podhoretz. Here is the
portion he quotes:
"Suppose the current media posture about American military and security
activities had been in effect during World War II. It is easy to imagine
that happening. In the 1930s, after all, the well-connected America First
Committee had been arguing for years about the need for America to stay out
of "Europe's wars." Aware of these popular views, the House extended the
draft by only a one-vote margin in 1941. Women dressed in black crowded the
entrance to the Senate, arguing against extending the draft. Several hundred
students at Harvard and Yale, including future Yale leader Kingman Brewster
and future American president Gerald Ford, signed statements saying that
they would never go to war. Everything was in place for a media attack on
the Second World War. Here is how it might have sounded if today's customs
were in effect:
"December 1941. Though the press supports America's going to war against
Japan after Pearl Harbor, several editorials want to know why we didn't
prevent the attack by selling Japan more oil. Others criticize us for going
to war with two nations that had never attacked us, Germany and Italy.
"October 1942. The New York Times runs an exclusive story about the British
effort to decipher German messages at a hidden site at Bletchley Park in
England. One op-ed writer criticizes this move, quoting Henry Stimson's
statement that gentlemen do not read one another's mail. Because the
Bletchley Park code-cracking helped us find German submarines before they
attacked, successful U-boat attacks increased once the Germans, knowing of
the program, changed their code.
"January 1943. After President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill call
for the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers, several newspapers
criticize them for having closed the door to a negotiated settlement. The
press quotes several senators complaining that the unconditional surrender
policy would harm the peace process.
"May 1943. A big-city newspaper reveals the existence of the Manhattan
Project and its effort to build atomic weapons. In these stories, several
distinguished scientists lament the creation of such a terrible weapon.
After Gen. Leslie Groves testifies before a congressional committee, the
press lambastes him for wasting money, ignoring scientific opinion, and
imperiling the environment by building plants at Hanford and Oak Ridge.
"December 1944. The German counterattack against the Allies in the Ardennes
yields heavy American losses in the Battle of the Bulge. The press gives
splashy coverage to the Democratic National Committee chairman's assertion
that the war cannot be won. A member of the House, a former Marine, urges
that our troops be sent to Okinawa.
"August 1945. After President Truman authorizes dropping the atomic bomb on
Japan, many newspapers urge his impeachment."
Lawrence
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