OPINION:
If Barack Obama had been president on Dec. 7, 1941, the world would be a far cry from what it is today. How would Mr. Obama have described the Japanese attack? How long would he have taken to respond, much less declare war? Would his speech to the nation been as stirring as Franklin Roosevelt’s? A “Day of Infamy” would likely be called “an unfortunate breakdown of diplomacy” or something equally spineless.
Great Britain would likely have fallen to Nazi Germany. Concentration camps and the Holocaust would have occurred on British soil. We would have seen handwringing and heard many hollow speeches. The Soviet Union would likely have survived because of its greatest ally, the Russian winter, but it’s unlikely that Islamic fanaticism would exist because there would not have been the “Battle of El Alamein.”
Americans need to remember Thomas Jefferson’s statement: “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Jefferson was referring to our homeland, but I’m pretty sure he would have thought that statement applied to foreign threats as well. How will history measure Mr. Obama against the other American presidents who had war thrust upon them? Only time will tell, but I think a nonpartisan view will not be kind.
DAVID DORN
Corona, Calif.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.