Nazi Germany invasion of Poland vs. US invasion of Iraq

[Frangible]

Sure, the US is far from Nazi Germany, but there are some startling similarities between these two incidents:

Poland -- Germany claimed its actions were in "self defense" and that Poland was an aggressive nation that posed a clear and present danger to it by false propaganda about an attack on Germany
Iraq -- The US claimed its actions were in "self defense" and that Iraq was an aggressive nation that posed a clear and present danger to it by false propaganda about WMDs

Poland -- Germany claimed it was liberating Danzig and the Polish corridor from the Polish government which was committing atrocities
Iraq -- The US claimed it was liberating Iraq from the Iraqi government which was committing atrocities

Poland -- Germany claimed Poland refused to reach a peaceful settlement and threw out the terrorism card

The Polish State has refused the peaceful settlement of relations which I desired, and has appealed to arms. Germans in Poland are persecuted with bloody terror and driven from their houses. - Adolf Hitler, 1939

Iraq -- The US claimed Iraq refused to reach a peaceful settlement and threw out the terrorism card

They have delivered public and private messages urging the dictator to leave Iraq so that disarmament can proceed peacefully. He has thus far refused ... It has given shelter and support to terrorism, and practices terror against its own people. - George W. Bush, 2002

Poland -- Blitzkrieg tactics were used to annihilate Polish defense rapidly, demoralize its defenders, and destroy logistics. The German army was the best in the world and had a kill ratio of 100:1, quickly crushing the initial defense.
Iraq -- Shock and Awe tactics were used to annihilate Iraqi defense rapidly, demoralize its defenders, and destroy command and control. The US army was the best in the world and had a kill ratio of 30:1, quickly crushing the initial defense.

Poland -- The level of resistance in Poland suprised the Germans, who thought that due to their military superiority and rapid assault the Poles would surrender and not put up a fight
Iraq -- The level of resistance in Iraq suprised the US, who thought that due to their military superiority and rapid assault the Iraqis would surrender and not put up a fight

Poland -- The invasion of Poland happened after other military action (Czechoslovakia, Austria) that had the support of the international community. The reasons stated for invading Poland were similar, but were not accepted and world opinion started to turn against Germany.
Iraq -- The invasion of Iraq happened after other military action (Afghanistan) that had the support of the international community. The reasons stated for invading Iraq were similar, but were not accepted and world opinion started to turn against the US.

Poland -- In the end, the real losers in Poland were the Poles. Suffering great losses and a gutted country, they still have not rebuilt to this day.
Iraq -- In the end, the real losers in Iraq were the Iraqis. Suffering great losses and a gutted country, they still have not rebuilt to this day.

Poland -- Adolf Hitler was named as Time Magazine's man of the year two years before the invasion
Iraq -- George W. Bush was named as Time Magazine's man of the year two years before the invasion

[izzie]

1. I guess every country drags out these old reasons when they .....

wish to take over another country. They can not seem to help them selfs. It is almost like the husband that beats his wife and said she made me do it.Who really believes the country or the man?

[TahitiNut]

6. Similar comparisons can be made to Mussolini and Ethiopia

... comparisons I find more salient.

[Frangible]

9. yup, as can Japan / China during WW2

Funny how 50 years later, the same excuses are given, and accepted.

[tom_paine]

2. All true true TRUE!

[indepat]

4. Hell, the neocons read the playbook

[no_hypocrisy]

3. "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it."

Quote by George Santayana, American philosopher, ca. 1905

[RaulGroom]

5. I wrote an Op/Ed about this before the war

And shopped it to all the major papers. None expressed interest. Oh well.

[Mick Knox]

7. That is a remarkable comparison ... nt

[ConcernedCanuk]

8. Some History on the Bush Family

.
.
.

“Bush - Nazi Dealings Continued Until 1951” - Federal Documents

By John Buchanan and Stacey Michael
from The New Hampshire Gazette Vol. 248, No. 3, November 7, 2003

After the seizures in late 1942 of five U.S. enterprises he managed on behalf of Nazi industrialist Fritz Thyssen, Prescott Bush, the grandfather of President George W. Bush, failed to divest himself of more than a dozen "enemy national" relationships that continued until as late as 1951, newly-discovered U.S. government documents reveal.

Furthermore, the records show that Bush and his colleagues routinely attempted to conceal their activities from government investigators.

(Image links to rest of story}

[rockymountaindem]

10. Most of the time I can find some inaccuracies in the WWII analogies

but not in this one. As an official WWII buff/obsessive freak since the age of eight, I can assure you that the statements made about Germany's actions in Poland are true.

[eridani]

11. A blast from the past

From "Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent, 1934-1941" William L. Shirer


August 10, 1939:

"How completely isolated a world the German(American) people live in. A glance at the newspapers yesterday and today reminds you of it. Whereas all the rest of the world considers that the peace is about to be broken by Germany (America), that it is Germany (America)that is threatening to attack Poland (Iraq)over Danzig (WMD), here in Germany (America), in the world the local newspapers create, the very reverse is being maintained. (Not that it surprises me, but when you are away for a while, you forget.) What the Nazi papers are proclaming is this: that it is Poland(Iraq) which is disturbing the peace of Europe; Poland (Iraq)which is threatening Germany (America)with armed invasion, and so forth. ..."

"POLAND? LOOK OUT!" warns the B.Z. headline, adding "ANSWER TO POLAND, THE RUNNER-AMOK (AMOKLAUFER) AGAINST PEACE AND RIGHT IN EUROPE!"

Or the headline in Der Fuhrer, daily paper of Karlsruhe, which I bought on the train: "WARSAW THREATENS BOMBARDMENT OF DANZIG -- UNBELIEVABLE AGITATION OF THE POLISH ARCH-MADNESS (POLNISCHEN GROSSENWAHNS)!"

... But the German people can't possibly believe these lies? Then you talk to them. So many do.

But so far the press limits itself to Danzig(WMD) . ... Any fool knows they don't give a damn about Danzig (WMD) . It's just a pretext.


Berlin, August 31, 1939 (morning)
Everybody against the war. People talking openly. How can a country go into a major war with a population so dead against it? People also kicking about being kept in the dark. A German said to me alst night: "We know nothing. Why don't they tell us what's up?" ...

Later. Three Thirty A.M. -- A typical Hitler swindle was sprung this evening. At nine p.m. the German radio stopped its ordinary program and broadcast the terms of German "proposals" to Poland. I was taken aback by their reasonableness, and having to translate them for our American listeners immediately, as we were on the air, I missed the catch. This is that Hitler demanded that a Polish plenipotentiary be sent to Berlin to "discuss" them by last night, though they were only given to Henderson the night before. An official German statement (very neat) complains that the Poles would not even come to Berlin to discuss them. Obviously, they didn't have time. And why should Hitler set a time limit to a sovereign power? ...