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Originally Posted by BritinAfrica My personal opinion is that Churchill was the better man, he didn't trust Hitler as far as he could throw him. Churchill warned parliament many times that was was imminent, as history shows he was ignored and branded a war monger.
Again if I remember correctly, FDR thought Britain was finished thanks to Joe Kennedy and another bloke (I can't remember his name off hand), FDR initially approached the Canadian PM regarding some sort of treaty for mutual protection. William Lyon Mackenzie King stated that his loyalties laid with Britain.
Churchill was convinced that the only way he could get FDR to back Britain, was to show him that Britain would not roll over easily and meant business. The attack on the French Fleet showed that Churchill was serious. If I remember correctly FDR stated "Churchill might be a drunk and a war monger, but he's a fighter."
I don't think Halifax would have the courage to do what Churchill did.
Churchill at the closing days of the war in Europe warned the world of the intentions of the Soviet Union. Churchill didn't trust Stalin either. Again he was ignored until it was too late.
Again, my opinion for what its worth, one of the reasons behind Churchill's downfall at the end of WW2 was his determination to prevent the National Health Service and Welfare State being brought into being. Britain's poor and working class often couldn't afford medical treatment and suffered because of it.
As I have said before, Churchill was the right man at the right time. |
In part I agree but there is also a part of me that thinks Churchill's intransigence exasperated the problem, the fact that he did not trust Hitler (rightly or wrongly) mean't that there was no other option but war, you could argue that he was right about Stalin (and there is no argument that he was a paranoid megalomaniac) as well but history shows that many of the Russian actions post war were more through paranoia than agression.
Basically I think in many ways Churchill painted himself into a corner and then just happened to have a can of paint remover with him to facilitate the escape.
I am not sure on this one (and reality is we will never know) but I am inclined to believe Halifax may have proved to be just as effective if not more so especially in the earlier years of the war.