The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 3 of 15)

D. A. Wells br> Huntington, West Virginia /p>

Your recent article by Jeffrey Lord compares the Republican loyal opposition of 1942 with the Democratic opposition of 2004, but does not examine the most interesting question about the 1942 elections.

Did Roosevelt urge the invasion of North Africa mostly to prevent the loss of 44 House seats in 1944? Most experts will confirm that the 1942 military campaign in Africa was badly conceived, badly executed, and served to prolong the war. The planning was amateurish, and its date had to be moved forward several times -- until it finally occurred after the U.S. elections, where it had no effect on them -- but that does not gainsay the fact FDR sent numerous nasty telegrams to the British urging them to hurry up.

Field Marshall Alan Brooke was Churchill's chief of staff, and the counterpart of Gen. George C. Marshall. Brooke's diaries mention the Roosevelt telegrams, and also give his opinion at the time that the North African adventure prolonged the war. He strongly insinuates it was Roosevelt's fault, owing to the proximity of U.S. elections. And Brooke was in a position to know what he was talking about.

p>This material was excised by Brooke from the first publication of the his Diaries in the 1950s. One must go to War Diaries 1939-1945 , Field Marshal Lord Alan Brooke, edited by Alex Danchev and Daniel Todman, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, London, 2001, to see the unexpurgated version, and it is well worth the trip. He also has some unvarnished things to say about Churchill, Eisenhower, Marshall, Patton and Mark Clark. br> -- Larry Hughes br> Calhoun County, Michigan /p> p> Your portrait of Republicans in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor is a nice fantasy, although I do believe Republican were more honest and ethical then than they are today. br> --

topics:
Education, Trade, Bill Clinton, Mainstream Media, Abortion, Hollywood, Law, Military, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Africa, Communism