Neville Chamberlain 2.0

THE FAILURE OF “PEACE FOR OUR TIME”

by Joseph DeMaio, ©2015

(Apr. 6, 2015) — “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” — George Santayana

It is one thing to claim that one “cannot remember the past.”  Growing old is not for sissies.  It is quite another thing, however, to acknowledge the past, ignore its lessons and then consciously repeat the same – or worse – mistakes.  Which brings us, of course, to the current nuclear control “deal” supposedly “forged” (an ironic use of the verb if ever there were one) between the United States and several of its allies (Britain, France and Germany) along with not-so-much “allies” Russia and China, on the one hand, and the Islamic Republic of Iran – also colloquially known as the Islamic “Death to America” Republic – on the other.

The “deal,” of course, is the one which the Emperor at 1600 defends as a “once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity” to make sure that Iran’s “peaceful” nuclear ambitions are controlled and that Iran will not get “The Bomb.”

The precise terms of the “deal,” of course, are not available for review or examination: only vague “principles,” “policies” and “understandings” are to be made available prior to the scheduled June signing of a formal…. something or another.  But we are inveigled to trust the Emperor and that we must sign onto the agreement in order to find out what is in it.  Ummm… where have we heard that before?  Hint: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/pelosi-defends-her-infamous-health-care-remark/2012/06/20/gJQAqch6qV_blog.html

Moreover, in further defending the inexcusable, the Emperor said in an Easter Sunday interview with a reporter for Pravda on the Hudson: “I’ve been very clear that Iran will not get a nuclear weapon on my watch, and I think they should understand that we mean it.”  For those who may be slower on the uptake than P&E readers (i.e., every person of whatever political affiliation who ever voted for the Emperor), the key words in that last sentence are: “… on my watch….”

Memo to the electorate: the Emperor’s “watch” comes to an end – barring earlier impeachment, resignation or Act of God – in approximately 22 months.  Which means, under a “deal” that is supposedly to last for ten years, if Iran succeeds in achieving the construction of a nuclear weapon two years from now, the Emperor’s words will be accurate and, of course, the blame for Iran having secured “The Bomb” will lie with the new president…. unless, of course, that new president is a (shudder….) Democrat.  Then the blame, naturally, will fall on the GOP.  Or as MSNBC will “report,” it will be Bush 43’s fault.

One of the universally-recognized precipitating events for World War II was the signing in 1938 of the “Munich Agreement.”   Under that document (hey, at least it was on paper…), the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Neville Chamberlain, along with diplomats from France and Italy, “negotiated” an “agreement” with Adolph Hitler in Munich, Germany.  Under it, Hitler’s demands for the cession of parts of Czechoslovakia into Germany would be recognized, thus appeasing his appetite for more territory in Europe and another war would be averted.  World War I, the “war to end all wars,” was less than successful in accomplishing that goal.

The agreement culminated in Chamberlain’s assurance to Great Britain upon his return to London from Munich: “My good friends, this is the second time there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Now I recommend you go home, and sleep quietly in your beds.”

Chamberlain’s successor, Winston Churchill, vocally opposed the charade and said of the Munich Agreement when it was being discussed in the House of Commons: “England has been offered a choice between war and shame. She has chosen shame, and will get war.”  Read the whole Wikipedia entry on “Aftermath and Reception” to get a “feel” for what probably lies ahead with the Iran “deal.”  But unlike our current Emperor, Churchill could actually identify and call evil by its true name.

Shortly after the ink had dried on the Munich Agreement, Hitler invaded Poland, and World War II was under way with a vengeance.  And shortly after that – coincidentally, after Neville Chamberlain’s “watch” was over – German V-1 “pulse-jet buzz bombs” and V-2 rockets launched from German-occupied France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland, as well as from Peenemünde, Germany, were raining down on London and Southern England.

Over the six-year course of the war – thanks in no small part to Neville Chamberlain’s utterly feckless and futile “negotiations” with Adolph Hitler in 1938 – over 9,500 V-1 buzz-bombs and over 3,000 V-2 rockets had killed over 30,000 people.  Needless to say, during these attacks, the people of England had some difficulty sleeping quietly in their beds.

The moral of this story is clear for anyone willing to look: the Emperor and his “if-Allah-wills-it” apparatchik John Kerry are doing their best to “one-up” Neville Chamberlain.  Thus far, with a sycophantic press behind them (much like the sycophantic press in London when Chamberlain proclaimed “peace for our time”), the Emperor and his sidekick seem to be getting away with it.  It is also noteworthy that four of the nations now cozying up to Iran – the U.S., Great Britain, France and Germany – were also signatories to the “peace for our time” Munich Agreement.  Is it just me, or does anyone else see a pattern here?

Oh, and by the way…. a single nuclear warhead can now pack exponentially more destructive force than all of the V-1’s, V-2’s, B-17 bombs, B-29 bombs, the Hiroshima bomb, and the Nagasaki bomb…. combined.

So, fellow Americans (not to mention the Israelis, the Saudis, the Jordanians, the Kuwaitis, et al.), sleep quietly in your beds…. at least for the next 22 months.