Indian Muslims

[Moscow Mule]

We should never have gone to war against Germany. We should have done a deal with Germany and remained neutral.

And reneged on our promises/treaties? Doesn't sound very British.

I'm not sure I'd want to live in a Britain that had done that.

It would be like being Swiss.

[sasguru]

We should never have gone to war against Germany. We should have done a deal with Germany and remained neutral.

A post worthy of the king troll, atwat himself

[DodgyAgent]

A post worthy of the king troll, atwat himself

I am sure that our friend Timberwolf agrees that there is no such thing as a "just war" and that if one side is a war aggressor, then if the other side retailaites they are therefore no better than the aggressor.

[TimberWolf]

I am sure that our friend Timberwolf agrees that there is no such thing as a "just war" and that if one side is a war aggressor, then if the other side retailaites they are therefore no better than the aggressor.

I think as with many things (economics included) there is no solution, although there are many bad solutions. Was the mass carnage of the Second World War the best solution? Moral and ethical decisions come into this too. Is it better that hundreds of millions die to save a helpless minority, is it justifiable to take out "dodgy" (no pun intended) characters out with a snipers bullet before things kick off? Could we have been a bit sneaky (dastardly) and taken out the German elite in this way, without expending millions of lives? Etc.

[Moscow Mule]

I think as with many things (economics included) there is no solution, although there are many bad solutions. Was the mass carnage of the Second World War the best solution?
Not sure about that. What are the alternatives (given the technology at the time)?

Moral and ethical decisions come into this too. Is it better that hundreds of millions die to save a helpless minority,
The holocaust wasn't apparent until the end of the war. It's not correct to assume that Britain entered the war to save a helpless minority. It entered to prevent the spread of a foreign power across Europe.

is it justifiable to take out "dodgy" (no pun intended) characters out with a snipers bullet before things kick off?
Leads to unintended consequences.

If Hitler had been taken out, the situation could have brewed nicely for the next nasty little fascist. It's just that by the time the next one came along there would be basic rocket technology and nuclear weapons

[Bob Dalek]

We should never have gone to war against Germany. We should have done a deal with Germany and remained neutral.

Genius! Oh! Hold on a moment... that's what Russia did... seem to remember that went a bit pear-shaped!

[Bob Dalek]

I am sure that our friend Timberwolf agrees that there is no such thing as a "just war" and that if one side is a war aggressor, then if the other side retailaites they are therefore no better than the aggressor.

Utter piffle. You are a social worker from Brent and have a CND symbol tattooed on your Left titty.

[DodgyAgent]

I think as with many things (economics included) there is no solution, although there are many bad solutions. Was the mass carnage of the Second World War the best solution? Moral and ethical decisions come into this too. Is it better that hundreds of millions die to save a helpless minority, is it justifiable to take out "dodgy" (no pun intended) characters out with a snipers bullet before things kick off? Could we have been a bit sneaky (dastardly) and taken out the German elite in this way, without expending millions of lives? Etc.

You dont really have much of a clue do you? Why didnt they just get the leaders to sit down with a pack of cards and draw cards to see who would control Europe.

[TimberWolf]

Not sure about that. What are the alternatives (given the technology at the time)?

The possibilities are endless. What we know about for certain is the path chosen, and that was the global war and fire-bombing civilians solution. Both sides are to blame for this and it's little consolation to those that died when someone says 'well he started it'. We can kill civilians on a vast scale too, when we get annoyed enough (as presumably were the original antagonists, though strangely that argument doesn't get extended that far).

The holocaust wasn't apparent until the end of the war. It's not correct to assume that Britain entered the war to save a helpless minority. It entered to prevent the spread of a foreign power across Europe.

Probably most people inhabiting the countries invaded by Germany would be unaffected, and presumably some (or even the majority) would even benefit from the invasion. Small minorities would not be, and they could be very badly affected. Those are the minority I speak of.

Leads to unintended consequences.

The unintended consequences would have to be worse than global war for that to be an incorrect solution in light of what did happen though.

If Hitler had been taken out, the situation could have brewed nicely for the next nasty little fascist. It's just that by the time the next one came along there would be basic rocket technology and nuclear weapons

It's interesting, though hard, to speculate on what could have happened, which is why I concentrate here more on what did happen.

[expat]

And reneged on our promises/treaties? Doesn't sound very British.

Ask any Czech, since we're talking about Hitler.