Flash Points USA - America at War - Robert Dallek
Flash Points USA - America at War - Robert Dallek
Flash Points USA - America at War - Robert Dallek (raw interview with Robert Dallek speaking about various Presidents) 06.15.05 Speaks about Woodrow Wilson, that he was looked at as a pacifist, Wilson calls for neutrality at the start of WWI, German submarine warfare (u-boat). (cell phone rings and disrupts taping) Dallek continues Wilson re-elected, 1917 Germany unleashes submarine warfare, Wilson refuses to back down, April 1917 Wilson declares war on Germany. Talks about Wilson's peace program, Versailles treaty, Wilson suffers stroke, in the 1920s he's seen as a failed President. In the 1940's the repudiation of Wilson, it is thought that there might not have been a Second World War if we would have followed Wilson s lead. "The country loves great visions, they love the idea of America leading the world onto some higher grand idealistic ground and Wilson is the greatest visionary of all our Presidents." 06.22.00 Dallek says "The attempt that's being made to bring democracy to Iraq, and at a larger level to spread democracy across the middle east, there are many skeptics like myself who say this is a losery, how are you going to do this, this is so Wilsonian, so universalistic, so unlikely to be realized, as Wilson vision was unrealized, remains unrealized." 06.23.01 Robert Dallek talks about Kennedy's decisions in Vietnam, LBJ's decision to increase ground forces, Dallek says in his opinion Kennedy wouldn't have escalated the numbers of troops, July 1965 sends 100 thousand combat troops, by 1968 there are over 500,000 combat troops in Vietnam, says that "this was is a failure", talks about the Tet Offensive. Dallek continues "Johnson kept saying there's light at the end of the tunnel, some wit said sometimes the light at the tunnel is from an onrushing train, which it was in the case of Vietnam." 06.28.18 Dallek talks about John F. Kennedy, says "The Bay of Pigs was a disaster which he freely acknowledged, but he had the victory in the Cuban Missile Crisis, and he had the Test Ban Treaty". He continues to talk about Johnson s struggle to master the conflict in Vietnam, Dallek says "Johnson himself says, how could it be these little guys in black pajamas running around in these jungles, how can they defeat the greatest power in the history of the world."