WW3 V.

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  World War Three Part V.

We hear very often nowadays that the current war between the western world and the Islamic world can be considered to be a "clash of civilizations".

Similarly, the duel between the western world and the forces of international communism can be considered to have been a war [WW3] of ideologies.

Two contrasting ideologies, only one of which would survive the war intact.

This war, WW3, came as a big shock to the American public. In the immediate years following the end of World War Two [WW2], America was the only place in the world that had not only emerged victorious from WW2, but prosperous as well. Prosperous in an amazing way. The America of that era was dominant over the world in economic, military and cultural spheres, solely possessed atomic weapons, and did not see a competitor to it's further dominance [dominance, but not dominance in a sinister manner!!] of the world as even existing. Such was the perception at the time.

This perception did not last for long.

With the communist victory in China, the explosion of an atomic bomb by the Soviets, and the stalemate war in Korea, the U.S. realized it DID have a serious challenger in world communism.

In fact, this challenge in the eyes of some was far more serious than could have ever been expected.

Only five years AFTER the end of WW2, the U.S. military, victorious in a big way of German fascism, COULD NOT defeat the communist forces in Korea. ONLY got a stalemate, and seemed hard pressed to accomplish even THAT. This was a totally unexpected experience.

The establishment of an "Iron Curtain" in Europe, the ascendancy and challenge of the Soviet Union, and the creation of Red China posed serious threats to the U.S. Threats that the U.S. seemed to be unable to anticipate, handle or even properly appreciate.

[a mantra of many folks during the 1950's was that, "soon there will be 1 billion Chinese in the world!!" The thought was that this number of people, all under the control of Mao, organized and focused on world conquest, would be an unstoppable force!!]

[these threats WERE understood in some circles. The writings in 1945 of Mr. X, later identified as George Keenan, laid out a strategy to deal with the RED menace. This strategy was the policy of containment. It was felt by Keenan that communism had a built-in self destruct mechanism. Given enough time, the communist system would collapse of it's own accord. Resistance to communism was required, but the MOLOCH of Red domination of the world was NOT to be feared to an extreme extent.]

It WAS perceived by the American public that the communist system was an enemy of the first magnitude that posed a grave danger to the U.S.

The American public also perceived that our own government, on many occasions DID NOT respond in a manner that was adequate. The communists WERE seen as HAVING A PLAN FOR CONQUEST. America DID NOT EVEN SEEM TO HAVE A PLAN, but was only able to respond to provocations and crisis. American was seen as being on the defense and NOT on the offense. Such as with the Berlin airlift.

Even in places such as Greece, Malaya, and the Philippines, where communist insurgencies were defeated, this only occurred after the communist guerrillas had INITIATED rebellion. Western forces were seen as being again, only able to respond and not thwart from the start.

coolbert.