Hindsight is always 20/20 (but Bush's is better!)

Yalta- a necessary evil?

When I was a child, I did not understand the difference between Western and Eastern Europe. I didn't understand why we called it the Soviet Union when it was Russia. I didn't understand why the country was afraid of nuclear war. Frankly, I didn't understand partisan politics. In school, we always ran out of school year by the time we got to World War II. I think this was more of a convenience than anything, for teachers wouldn't have to talk about Vietnam or US Foreign Policy during the Cold War. I guess they thought it was too complicated for us to understand. Back then, there were gray areas, you know?

Bush condemned the Yalta agreement today. His partisanship extends beyond American borders. Why do we never hear him condemning gop support of dictators? Why not go to Iraq and apologize for the Iran contra affair? I hope Hillary will do so when she's prez. I hope she will apologize to the Kurds for the gops' selling of chemical weapons to Saddam. I hope she will apologize to Iraqis for the gops' putting Saddam into power.

I became fascinated with the Cold War in college. It was something new, and it finally explained a lot of the questions I had as a child. It WAS too complicated for a ten year old. It IS too complicated for many adults, including Bush. White is "freedom." Black is "insert enemy here." Being that the world isn't really black and white, the Yalta agreement was a compromise to end a horrendous half century of war. We all know the atrocities of Stalin now, but could we anticipate those back in 1945, when everyone was too tired from the war to think about ideology? Even Stalin wanted peace. Containment was part of the policy even as FDR was inking the treaty. Some people's freedom was limited as a result of desire to end war. Where is the "survival of the fittest" idea that the gops are always tossing around?

I believe in Franklin's statement "They who sacrifice essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." However, the "safety" of Yalta was neither little nor temporary. We knew what the Russians were capable of. We were on the verge of nuclear holocaust even as early as 1945. Although horrifying, the sacrifices made by Eastern Europeans liberated Europe from war, and Europeans don't forget that. Today, the continent that had never really seen peace throughout it's history has been relatively free from war for sixty years, with the notable exception of the Slavic wars of the nineties. (An FDR worshipper took care of that despite the objections of Congressmen who took money from Russian agents to keep Milosevic in power.)

America played a huge role in Europe's division. No one denies that. But it is not right to start blaming others to try to destroy a legacy. FDR liberated the world from war. FDR helped create lasting peace in Europe.

Read Arthur Schlesinger's thoughts on the subject here.

One thing Bush did right:

Bush placed a wreath at the Latvian Freedom Monument, a towering obelisk symbolizing this small country's struggle for independence. While he is unpopular across much of Europe because of the Iraq war, Bush got a warm welcome here.

While celebrating the triumph of the Soviet Union, at least he did not forget to honor those who suffered under it.