Hitler Didn't Want War: Pat Buchanan

My first reaction upon reading Pat Buchanan's missive, published Tuesday, was whaaaat? The conservative columnist is under fire for a column that argues that Adolf Hitler didn’t want to launch a war, and that World War II could have been avoided if Poland had agreed to hand over the city of Danzig (now Gdansk) to Germany.

Arguing that the city of Danzig wanted to return to Germany, which according to Buchanan was "had been severed from Germany at Versailles in violation of Woodrow Wilson’s principle of self-determination" is one thing. Saying that Hitler wouldn't have launched a war defies logic.

But if Hitler was out to conquer the world — Britain, Africa, the Middle East, the United States, Canada, South America, India, Asia, Australia — why did he spend three years building that hugely expensive Siegfried Line to protect Germany from France? Why did he start the war with no surface fleet, no troop transports and only 29 oceangoing submarines? How do you conquer the world with a navy that can't get out of the Baltic Sea?

If Hitler wanted the world, why did he not build strategic bombers, instead of two-engine Dorniers and Heinkels that could not even reach Britain from Germany?

Why did he let the British army go at Dunkirk?

Well, besides the fact that he was insane and addicted to drugs, historians have a long laundry list of mistakes that Hitler made, and part of them explain the above.

Originally, Germany was aiming for a 1943 timeframe for war. I cannot recall the exact reasons that Hitler moved up the date right now, but by 1943 they would have had a surface fleet.

In terms of bombers, it's also well-known that Goering wasn't a big fan of strategic bombers, and that Germany liked to build multi-purpose aircraft that could serve many purposes. For example, the Junkers JU-88 was used as a long-range fighter, a bad choice for it.

In terms of Dunkirk, history shows that while the Germans may have been a little lax in terms of preventing the British from escaping, they hardly "let them go."

The American Prospect has a nice little point of view.

That whole invading Poland thing was clearly just a big misunderstanding. He didn't want war, he just wanted to arbitrarily annex whatever part of Europe he felt like having -- the response was clearly overblown, and maybe even a little rude.

Let's not forget, also, that Hitler hated the U.S.S.R. They were bound to invade sooner or later, anyway, and once again a mistake was invading too late in the year, which allowed Russia's winter to intervene.

Hitler came very close to winning, and if he had corrected a few mistakes, we might all be speaking German now. Interestingly, Pat Buchanan has book on the causes of World War II, "Churchill, Hitler and 'The Unnecessary War.'" Makes you wonder if all this is about promoting the book, and even creating outrage in the blogosphere to help sales.

I can tell you this: my wife and her family, born in Warsaw, is outraged at this.

Woman Shouts "Heil, Hitler" to Jewish Man During Health Care Town Hall

This is what America has become. It's no wonder that other countries burn our flag and look at us as racist idiots. We in fact demonstrate our insanity with events like this, a woman shouting "Heil, Hitler" to a Jewish man extolling the virtues of Israel's health care system.

Last week, Las Vegas radio station KDWN AM720 sponsored a town hall, emceed by conservative morning show host Heidi Harris. During the event, local news stations were interviewing an Israeli man who was praising the “national health care in Israel, which is fantastic.”

As he's talking, a woman, since IDed as Pamela Pilger, yells out, “Heil, Hitler!” The man stopped talking about health care, and understably upset (abovef), said “Did you hear this? She say to a Jew, ‘Heil Hitler’! Hear? I’m a Jew! You’re telling me, ‘Heil Hitler’? Shame of you! Shame of you!” After he angrily confronts her and further describes his $8,000 ER visit in the U.S., she mocks him, making a crying sound to imply he is a baby. Watch it:

In this video filmed before the incident, Pamela Pilger says she believes in Biblical values. This is belied by her "Heil, Hitler" comment. It's also belied by the fact that she should be thinking "do unto others" and supporting health care reform.

By the way, sites have noted Pamela Pilger is wearing an Israeli Defense Forces T-shirt. They have also outed her Facebook account, here.