Hastings Ismay Quotes
If we were to embark on war with Russia, we must be prepared to be committed to a total war, which will be both long and costly. Our numerical inferiority on land renders it extremely doubtful whether we could achieve a limited and quick success…
At the end of WWII there was much tension between Russia and the Anglo-American alliance. This plan was developed but never implemented. See {613195} for Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s description of the invasion idea.
Hastings Ismay, 1887-1965, British General & Diplomat, Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Report consisting of an Invasion Plan by America and Britain of Russia to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, May 22, 1945
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In 1980 Russian troops moved into Afghanistan, and President Jimmy Carter imposed an American grain export embargo against Russia:
The War Plan that the Germans had developed--{642092}—had gone awry at the battle of the Marne in late 1914.
The U. S. and Russia
The Germans did not believe the British would send land troops. See {642105}.
Kennan was talking about the Russians, but the same principle seems to hold with any autocratic government and in some cases even democracies. However, the tradition of secret diplomacy with no transparency is established even in many democracies. Great Britain and France, for example conduct most of their diplomacy in secret as do less democratic governments and tyrannies. They expect us to keep negotiations confidential, which causes American diplomats to be torn between the American view of transparency and the tradition of confidentiality.
Saddam claimed to his people that Iraq had essentially won the Gulf War as they were stronger afterwards than ever before and they had been able to suppress the Kurds and the Shiites with the helicopters and arms with which the emerged from the war and had been allowed to keep.
The Germans had invaded Russia who despite losing over 20 million people continued to fight the Germans who had never had to deploy forces over such a large territory. But it was the severe Russian Winter that turned the tide. Germans were not equipped or dressed for the terrible winter. The Russians were used to it. The Germans were repulsed and had to retreat back into Germany.
- Born: June 21, 1887
- Died: December 17, 1965
- Nationality:
- Profession:
General Hastings Lionel "Pug" Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay KG, GCB, CH, DSO, PC, DL (21 June 1887 – 17 December 1965), was a British Indian Army officer and diplomat, remembered primarily for his role as Winston Churchill's chief military assistant during the Second World War and his service as the first Secretary General of NATO from 1952 to 1957.
