Re: WORLD WAR II: The rift between the U.S. and Europe

The Danish Peace Academy has many books about war and peace on line. For the Free French soldiers during the World War Two and the many German emigres who during the same war worked against Hitler, Holger Terp calls our attention to Kurt Singer,  Hitlers Weltkrieg 1939-1945 : Die Widerstandskämpfer
 Link: http://www.fredakademiet.dk/read/sprog/tysk/deutsche.htm

Tim Brown wrote:So now John Heelan is arguing that the US bears the entire blame for both World War I and World War II and fought them in Europe only because we nasty Yankees exploited nice innocent Europeans so we could use their territories as our proxy killing fields.

John Heelan protests: Tim Brown is mistaken- not for the first time!   Perhaps he could point out where I said that the US was responsible for WW1 and WWII.  I have been arguing against the US knee-jerk reaction to any European criticism of the US of moaning "Such ingratitude after all we have done for them in two world wars. If it wasn't for us they would all be speaking German!"   Just take a look at postings from various WAISers stating such views.  [Perhaps Europe is not the only strange world inhabited by WAISers!]

I argue that the US did not intervene in both wars until it was predominantly to US benefit to do so.  In which case, the decision to intervene was not the mythical altruistic action that many in the US love to believe,  but a realpolitik decision taken  for US domestic reasons. [I have stated on several occasions that I have no quarrel with that realpolitik; the first role of governments is to protect their own people.]  The US altruistic myth was perpetuated in justifying the Vietnam War and is now being refreshed for the Iraq War.

Istvan Simon writes; John Heelan's explanation that Europe "provided proxy killing fields for  American troops in World War II" is an example of confused thinking.  The fact that America benefited from fighting World War II in no way diminishes the enormous debt that  countries like France and Germany owe the United States. Further, clearly providing "proxy killing fields" was not voluntary, therefore it in no way answers my question.  I had asked, " I would like to know what France and Germany did for us of comparable magnitude". Mr. Heelan's answer  can be summarized  with one word: Nothing.