August 06, 2006

"THE LANGUAGE OF THE MAILED FIST"

        Now that the corrupt, Jew hating UN has gotten into the act with a Security Council resolution which, if actually implemented, will stop Israel before completing the destruction of Hezbollah, there will surely be increasing clamor for the U.S. to sit down and talk with dictators Assad of Syria and Ahmadinejad of Iran. It has already begun. This has the all too familiar feel of the late 1930's (see Victor Hanson)when the educated classes in Europe wanted to believe war could be averted through signed diplomatic agreements. Let us therefore remember the dealings of peace loving leaders with Herr Hitler in 1938.
        It is hard to believe, but Neville Chamberlain was hailed for his Munich ("Peace in our time")agreement with Hitler. When he spoke about his efforts and the resultant agreement, it was with pride and an assumption of moral righteousness in his cause, the cause of peace. After all, he argued, the masses yearned for peace. In his speech to Parliament on Oct. 3, 1938 he spoke proudly of his appeasement policy: "...Ever since I assumed my present office my main purpose has been to work for the pacification of Europe, for the removal of those suspicions and those animosities which have so long poisoned the air. The path which leads to appeasement is long and bristles with obstacles. The question of Czechoslovakia is the latest and perhaps the most dangerous. Now that we have got past it, I feel that it may be possible to make further progress along the road to sanity..." What a good and decent man, striving so hard, so rationally to remove any cause for suspicion and animosity by setting an example, proving his own tolerance, indeed generosity, towards Hitler and friends. Chamberlain would have fit right into our Oprah-fied, culture of feelings, for he urged his listeners to sympathetically understand Hitler's predicament--and Mussolini's too: "After everything that has been said about the German Chancellor today and in the past, I do feel that the House ought to recognise the difficulty for a man in that position to take back such emphatic declarations as he had already made amidst the enthusiastic cheers of his supporters, and to recognise that in consenting, even though it were only at the last moment, to discuss with the representatives of other Powers those things which he had declared he had already decided once for all, was a real and a substantial contribution on his part. With regard to Signor Mussolini, . . . I think that Europe and the world have reason to be grateful to the head of the Italian government for his work in contributing to a peaceful solution..." These are the words of a man who would be welcome in today's Democratic party.
        Winston Churchill's eloquent response is well known, however in my re-reading of the House of Commons Debate, another member, the now mostly forgotten Duff Cooper stands out for his clarity of thinking and expression. His reply to Chamberlain is well worth reading in its entirety as he argues vainly for dealing with Hitler by the application of force, not diplomatic niceties. Here is a portion: "...That is the deep difference between the Prime Minister and myself throughout these days. The Prime Minister has believed in addressing Herr Hitler through the language of sweet reasonableness. I have believed that he was more open to the language of the mailed fist....
        The Prime Minister has confidence in the good will and in the word of Herr Hitler, although when Herr Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles he undertook to keep the Treaty of Locarno, and when he broke the Treaty of Locarno he undertook not to interfere further, or to have further territorial aims, in Europe. When he entered Austria by force he authorised his henchmen to give an authoritative assurance that he would not interfere with Czechoslovakia. That was less than six months ago. Still, the Prime Minister believes that he can rely upon the good faith of Hitler; he believes that Hitler is interested only in Germany, as the Prime Minister was assured....

The Prime Minister may be right. I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, with the deepest sincerity, that I hope and pray that he is right, but I cannot believe what he believes. I wish I could. . . . I remember when we were discussing the Godesberg ultimatum that I said that if I were a party to persuading, or even to suggesting to, the Czechoslovak Government that they should accept that ultimatum, I should never be able to hold up my head again. . . . I have ruined, perhaps, my political career. But that is a little matter; I have retained something which is to me of great value--I can still walk about the world with my head erect."
        Horsefeathers has wondered, where is our Churchill? We'd be quite happy to settle for the eloquent power of Duff Cooper, warning us that the only thing our enemies will respond to is "the language of the mailed fist".
Praise the Lord, and Pass the ammunition and we'll all stay free.

The complete speech is here.