24-11-2010, 03:02 PM
Dawn Meredith Wrote:Mark Stapleton Wrote:That's the size of it Myra. November 22 is a sad day and should be commemorated.
Personally I doubt JFK was ever a cold war warrior. In 1960 he exploited public fear of the missile gap because he wanted to win the Presidency. He couldn't implement changes if he lost the election.
Mark: Jim DiEugenio has made a compelling case for that point. I wish we could get him to post here.
Dawn
Can you point me to where I could find it Dawn?
btw, the JFK speech on Algerian independence was in July 1957, not 1956 as I stated earlier.
According to Arthur Schlesinger Jnr's 'A Thousand Days' this speech brought Kennedy more mail than any other he made in the Senate. It also earned the ire of the CFR, New York Times, Dept. of State and several fellow politicians. But it earned him many friends in Africa.
JFK's criticism of America's support for France's refusal to accept Algerian self determination doesn't seem to be typical behavior of a cold war warrior in 1957, although the two issues are directly related only insofar as I believe the Soviets broadly supported Algerian nationalism.
A cold war warrior describes a person who favored direct confrontation and even war with the Soviets during the cold war. To place Kennedy--before or after becoming President-- in the same category as a full blown psychotic like General Curtis LeMay is a bit rich I think.
Kennedy often said that a nuclear war would represent the ultimate failure of his administration and there is no evidence to suggest he thought the opposite prior to becoming President.