Global War Quotes
This incredibly accurate prediction was made before the United States had entered the War when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Nehru had been educated in England and lived there at various times where he was one of the intelligence. He virulently detested Fascism and made very careful distinctions between the level of morality of British Colonialism and the much greater evil of Hitler-Mussolini Fascism. Few anti-colonial leaders then and since were able to see the shades of grey and make such a nuanced analysis. He foresaw that devastation caused by Fascist aggression and the world reaction would be so profound that the entire world order would change radically. Few others realized that at this time.
After the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Stimson drafted the Declaration of War that President Roosevelt would ask Congress to vote for. However, there was a small but very vocal group of extreme Republican conservatives who opposed assisting England against Hitler and saw German and Italian Fascism as positive forces. They would oppose any administration declaration of war against Germany and Italy who had not yet attacked any American facilities. The President realized that German and Italy had a Mutual Defense Treaty with Japan, and when we declared war against Japan, would have to ally with Japan or reneg on their treaty. So FDR removed Germany and Italy from the Declaration and Congress just declared war against Germany. In the next days, Germany and Italy declared war against the United States, and the de facto situation was as Stimson had drafted it, but FDR had not given the right wing American Fascist sympathizers any issue to criticize the administration.
President Roosevelt had brilliantly judged the ability of England, Russia, and Yugoslavia to fight the Germans, but as this quotation and {641676} shows, he listened to the wrong people. He had been sold a “bill of goods” by the China Lobby, the Soongs and Chiang Kai-shek.
Boggs was working on some compromise positions that could be taken by the party at the 1968 Democratic National Convention to provide the anti war wing of the party with something. The President found out and met with Congressman Boggs.
