"Lessons from the Tragedy of Woodrow Wilson War" Topic

"Today is a historical marker of immense importance in American history: it is the centenary of American entry into the Great War, later known as the First World War. One hundred years ago today, on April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany, following strong majority votes in both Houses of Congress and the impassioned speech of President Woodrow Wilson to a joint session on April 2, wherein he asserted that America must fight in the European war "to make the world safe for democracy."

A century later, the ghosts of hallowed American war dead at Belleau Wood, the Second Battle of the Marne, and the Argonne Forest cry out to our political leaders of today with one searing question: have you learned anything from our sacrifice? From an objective perspective, a brief review of the historical context that led to war and its aftermath across time would appear to indicate that the answer to this seminal question is no. However, in great humility and reverent remembrance for the fallen Americans of that war, the key lessons from the tragedy unleashed 100 years ago today are offered below, in hopes that their learnings can, in fact, be applied to the urgent problems presently confronting the Trump Administration…"
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Amicalement
Armand

A very interesting article with useful insights, well worth reading.

But… don't be fooled by the author's manipulations and anti-American bias that everything wrong in the world is OUR fault. He has a marked tendency to criticize decisions made from the perspective of history--not from the perspective of those having to make those decisions based on the moment, without the luxury of that comes from making them years later.

Claims that North Korea, Iran, and others do not pose ANY threat to the US is a staggering suggestion.

And the author's emphasis on economics--money--as the cause of ALL this country's bad decisions betrays his Marxist mind set.

There's more than enough evidence of bad decisions by the US over the century now past since entry into WW I, but anyone swallowing this article whole is making one helluva bad decision himself.

TVAG

Glad you enjoyed it my friend.

Good points also!.

Amicalement
Armand

That article is why economist/merchant bankers and graduate students from the Copenhagen School of Business should stick to what they know and stay away from history. It would be pointless to go through the article point by point since it would be extremely tedious but my problem with the whole approach is best captured in the following quote…

"Why did America fight in Vietnam? Especially since Communism collapsed 16 years later anyway."

Yeah sure, we all knew that would happen.

Exactly!

He does this in other places, too, though perhaps not so egregiously.

Frankly, given the author's bias, I'm not sure he should even stick to writing about economics….

TVAG

"Marxist mind set"
Really? One of the authors is listed as "John L. Chapman is an economist and merchant banker with Hill & Cutler Co. in Washington, D.C." A merchant banker with a Marxist mind set? That'll be a first!
"Claims that North Korea, Iran, and others do not pose ANY threat to the US is a staggering suggestion."
Again, really? How is it a staggering suggestion? How does Iran, or North Korea, or Daesh, pose any kind of a threat to the US?

Other lessons from the tragedy of Woodrow Wilson's wars can be read here: chomsky.info/19850319 and seen and heard here: YouTube link
Wilson's avowed policy "to make the world safe for democracy", as illustrated in the article is shown to be far more of a tragedy in US policy in the Americas.

I have often wondered why Americans pay so little attention to a war that cost them more dead than Vietnam (and in a far shorter space of time), other than to insist on claiming that they "saved our asses".