U.S. negotiating with dictators historically a bad idea.

God Bless America!

by Dr. C.B. Tichenor, 9 Aug, 2008, the Star
In our “modern” society, since the beginning of World War II, with computers, jet engines and television, our nation has been confronted with numerous international dictators.

In November of 1941, the Japanese dictator, Tojo, sent Japanese envoys to the U.S. on a peacekeeping and trade mission. The truth was that the Japanese navy had already sailed from Yokahama bay in order to destroy much of our Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. Tojo lied. We were deceived by him at a ghastly price. Had our Navy been at full strength, it may have been able to prevent the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, thus saving the lives of approximately 60,000 U.S. soldiers.

By June 1944, our military grew stronger; we were bombing Japanese cities (B-29s). The Japanese circulated photographs to the U.S., via their Swedish and Swiss ambassadors, of the “numerous” churches in the city of Kyoto, Japan. They pleaded that we not bomb Kyoto. President Roosevelt, in his weekly radio broadcast to U.S. citizens, had these pictures given to our newspapers and told us that we would not bomb Kyoto. The U.S. public approved. In September 1945, when our Navy and Marines entered Tokyo and Kyoto, they found ammunition, airplane and tank factories by the dozens, hastily erected in and near Kyoto. Had we bombed Kyoto, tens of thousands of U.S. military lives would have been saved. We were suckered again by a dictator who lied.

Adolf Hitler signed a nonaggression pact with Russia in 1942. We believed him. That gave him a “free” year. He built planes and tanks then attacked Russia, then North Africa in 1943, killing thousands of U.S. soldiers there. The dictator lied, and we were suckered again. Hitler also denied that he had concentration camps where he murdered millions of Jews and Catholics.

In the 1990s, the young North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il promised that if we could give him $4 billion to feed his starving nation, he would at once cease his nuclear weapons production. Clinton, in good faith, gave the money to him. He promptly kicked out our inspectors and, with the money, increased his nuclear activity. We were suckered again. Within a year, he launched a “nuclear test rocket.” Our television press trumpeted that it was capable of reaching the U.S. After a much publicized launch, it rose 1,000 feet, flew half of a mile, exploded, and sank into the ocean. Kim proposed the same $4 billion “financial” plan to George Bush in 2004. Bush refused and instead has China, Russia and the U.S. pressuring North Korea with sanctions. The result: We now gave Kim no money, and North Korea just “voluntarily” destroyed one of its nuclear plants.

In 2000, Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden assured the world that al-Qaeda was only a small Afghanistan terrorist group and was in no way connected to Iraq and that his use of anthrax to murder entire Kurd towns and thousands of enemies in Basra was purely internal. International intelligence showed otherwise, and Bush invaded Iraq. The liberal press championed the argument of Hussein and Bin Laden and loudly berated our invasion. Now, almost daily, that same press publicizes bombings by al-Qaeda in Iraq. In fact, Iraq was, back then, training and financing al-Qaeda inside Iraq. The press never apologized. We were suckered again by a dictator’s lies.

Today, the Iranian president preaches and was elected on his plan to destroy Israel and financially support foreign terrorist cells, including those in the U.S., and become an atomic power. He also denies that the German Holocaust existed. The Germans have invited him to visit their own Holocaust Museum. He declined. Finally, he steadfastly claims that his nuclear reactors are for peaceful purposes. Our and international intelligence reveals facts contrary to that. Will we be suckered again?

We now have a choice as never in our history. We now face “the Crusades in reverse.” This time, however, our terrorist enemies have no navy, no air force, no uniformed army but probably multiple atomic bombs and the willing suicide civilian legions to destroy our cities and society.

When every president of the United States takes the brief Oath of Office from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he pledges only one oath: “I will protect the safety of this nation from all of its enemies whomever.” He does not promise socialized health care, free housing, brotherly love or cheap gasoline. The safety of the nation is the only thing . It is not our duty, but our honor to fight for and protect our nation.

Finally, we Americans are prone to be trusting of foreign dictators. Lies are historically part of their heritage. If the U.S. enters into lengthy negotiations with Iran, they will realize that we have lost our will to fight to keep our nation safe. Iran will have more free years to develop its atomic bomb. Many atomic bombs will almost certainly then go into Muslim terrorist cells in the U.S., France and Germany. Then they will have the atomic bomb along with the suicidal desire and willingness to virtually destroy us.

The safety of our nation and the presidential choice in 100 days is yours and mine. Will our nation then have a new president, mature in the economy, with longevity in federal governing, and thoroughly experienced in international affairs? In addition, in today’s terrorist war environment, a tough, wartime, military hero president would help keep this country free. President Dwight Eisenhower, a World War II general , successfully ended the Korean War by enlisting the help of China. President John Kennedy, a World War II Naval officer, successfully expelled the communist Russians from their Caribbean bases and forced demolition of Russian Missile bases in Cuba, 90 miles from Florida and, at that time, a Russian Satellite. President Ronald Reagan, a World War II Army officer, in effect, ended the Cold War with Russia by forcing Gorbachev to “tear down that wall” in Berlin. The divided Germany was then united, making NATO more powerful than Russia. The Cold War was over.

We have one presidential candidate, a former high-ranking naval officer in the Vietnam War, who is a lengthy senatorial and military leader and is thoroughly trained to diffuse or defeat today’s terrorist attacks.

The lies and gruesome atrocities of ruthless dictators, many decades past, may seem unreal, even untrue, to younger Americans. There are, however, a few of us aging citizens who, in the 1940s, as very young Army or Navy military men, were actually on the beaches of Normandy, France or the in the jungle of Okinawa, Japan, and clearly saw the carnage.

God save America. God bless America.

Dr. Tichenor is distinguished corporate chief executive and professor of business at Gardner-Webb University.

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