<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> Brad De Long wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>>Author Michael Zezima makes the case that the U.S did not enter WWII to >stop fascism or to make the world a safer place.  To the contrary, the U.S. >business class traded with Hitler and Mussolini up to and even during the >war.  Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh's public Hitlerphilia were symbolic >of big business's admiration for Hitler's anti-communism. This is completely incoherent. "The U.S." does not equal "The U.S. business class"--especially not in 1940, when the U.S. business class loathed FDR...</blockquote> glb wrote: "Completely incoherent"? Methinks Mr. DeLong is not comfortable with the facts of "Western" (Chamberlain and the key people in his cabinet; French PM Daldier and the right wing in France;  Spain's Franco; Portugal's Salazar; Italy's Mussolini; and "US"&/or "US business class)" collusion & support of fascism. I add a previous message: Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 10:57:13 -0800    From: Brad De Long <delong@econ.Berkeley.EDU>    Well, Chamberlain and Daladier declared war on it in September    1939--late I agree, but better late than never. Don't they get    brownie points for being willing to take on the beast, given that    everybody elsewaited for the beast to come after them?    Brad DeLong       (Italics from glb) glb answered then: Wrong. Quoting I.F. Stone (letter to THE NATION?) dated Sept.23,1939: "On May Day, ...Communists marched in London with flaming banners proclaiming 'Britain and Russia- the Hope of the World'. On May 3 the British Cabinet decided to reject the Russian offer of an alliance, and Chamberlain told the Commons he was ready to exchange non-aggression pledges with Germany." 3 months later Russia had signed the so-called infamous Nazi-Soviet Pact, well after being snubbed by Chamberlain. Also, during this period and after the US entered the war British and US "Captains of Industry & Finance" were doing a brisk business with the Nazis in oil, finances, ball bearings, communications, etc. much of it sanctioned by our State Department, as illustrated in Charles Higham's book, "Trading With the Enemy" and others.        </html>