[Ketman]

The title of this thread reminds me of the tabloid headline in Ricky Gervais's Extras. "TV Bully Kicks Dwarf in Face".

What Ben was saying is that Britain might have neutralized Hitler in other ways, either by better diplomacy, or if all else failed could have sent someone to assassinate him. About later conflicts, he said Britain and the US picked on easy targets, tin-pot dictators, but would never dream of standing up to powerful countries whose regimes are just as oppressive (meaning Russia and China probably).

He's mistaken about the chances of avoiding WWII, but the rest of what he said was fair enough.

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by Ketman

The title of this thread reminds me of the tabloid headline in Ricky Gervais's Extras. "TV Bully Kicks Dwarf in Face".

What Ben was saying is that Britain might have neutralized Hitler in other ways, either by better diplomacy, or if all else failed could have sent someone to assassinate him. About later conflicts, he said Britain and the US picked on easy targets, tin-pot dictators, but would never dream of standing up to powerful countries whose regimes are just as oppressive (meaning Russia and China probably).

He's mistaken about the chances of avoiding WWII, but the rest of what he said was fair enough.

that is nearer the truth than the whole thread!lol

[StGeorge]

Originally Posted by Ketman

The title of this thread reminds me of the tabloid headline in Ricky Gervais's Extras. "TV Bully Kicks Dwarf in Face".

What Ben was saying is that Britain might have neutralized Hitler in other ways, either by better diplomacy, or if all else failed could have sent someone to assassinate him. About later conflicts, he said Britain and the US picked on easy targets, tin-pot dictators, but would never dream of standing up to powerful countries whose regimes are just as oppressive (meaning Russia and China probably).

He's mistaken about the chances of avoiding WWII, but the rest of what he said was fair enough.

That is a very good point.

My take on it is this:

If diplomacy works..then be diplomatic. If diplomacy is failing....then turn to the gun.
If by turning to the gun, you start WW3 and introduce nuclear annialation to your people....then stick with diplomacy.

This justifies why some countries can be nuked and yet others cant. Its not about being a bully....its about knowing your limitations and how far you can go.

Knowing when to step in or step out is difficult and hindsight is a wonderful thing.

If we had sent in an assassin or declared war on hitler after kristallnacht, we would of been in the same boat we are now with it being declared an illegal act. Who was to know what was to come.