The Berlin Airlift

[Lancer]

During the Berlin airlift the US and its allies flew tons of supplies into Berlin in order to prevent the city and its citizens from giving in to the Soviets, and saving over 2 million Germans from communism.

The Soviets had declared that the four power partition of the city was disolved and that the west had no more right to occupy the city. They fully expected that they could starve the citizens and thereby force the allies out.

I don't recall my history well enough to say how many planes were lost, maybe a dozen? Mostly through fatigue, but also because no airport had ever handled as many planes as Berlin airport (Templehof?) did during the effort. With the loss of the planes were the loss of crews, people died so that Berlin could live.

Brave, resolved people who valued freedom...

Alot of good folks died during the cold war. When I was stationed in Germany a guy from the next barracks got crushed up against a building by a tank. I didn't know him particularly well, just looked like a regular guy.

We served the cause of freedom, and because we were there through the bad times, a better day came when East Germany joined the West. I'm glad these people could leave behind the hardships of an oppressive government.

I hope that our efforts in Iraq will free even more.

[Dis]

was there a point to this thread

Yes the Berlin airlift was an amazing operation.

[Main_Brain]

Situation has changed a lil since then.

BTW: No Pilots died.

[Winston]

[uh Clem]

The war vet speaks:

Alot of good folks died during the cold war. When I was stationed in Germany a guy from the next barracks got crushed up against a building by a tank. I didn't know him particularly well, just looked like a regular guy.

Thanks for the comic relief.

American history is long and varied enough that you'll find exactly what you're looking for. In other words, pretty much the same as everybody else.

So you'll find instances of Americans selflessly standing up for freedom. You'll also find things like, oh, US support for Central American death-squad governments in the 1980s. But the Good Citizen will know to ignore stuff like that since it destroys his argument.

[GePap]

Since the West German Army had several hundreads of thousands of men in the front lines, making the bulk of of the divisions in the Central front, I am sure plenty of germans died in similar incidents defending their own country, and OURS, during the Cold War: and the German were nice enough allies, so that even when huge armies (some of them made of their own countrymen) were poised to assault them, never created their own independent nuclear force.

America did not defend Europe simply out of selflessness. America defended Europe, both in WW2 and the Cold War because if we hadn't, we would surely not be the superpower we are today. So give me a f*cking break.

[Spiffor]

Lancer :
I think you post this thread so that 'Poly Germans feel thankful towards the US and back your war in Iraq now. Am I wrong ?

[Harovan]

Originally posted by Spiffor
Lancer :
I think you post this thread so that 'Poly Germans feel thankful towards the US and back your war in Iraq now. Am I wrong ?

You are right as mostly, Spiff. That's so obvious, that I would never respond to his troll.

[Serb]

Re: ***YO ADRIAN***The Berlin Airlift

Originally posted by Lancer
I hope that our efforts in Iraq will free even more.

Yeah, sure. Your last effort gave ticket to heavens to millions of Iraqis people. Beeing killed by American bomb or starved to death, because of irrigation system destroyed by American bomb, it's true salvation for horribly opressed Iraqis people and great effort to make the World a better and more free place.
Keep up the great work.

[Zkribbler]

Serb -- Do I understand you right? You're ticked at the U.S. because ten years ago, the U.N. was forced by Saddam's aggression against Kuwait to intervene militarily and drive him out?

And millions of civilians killed by American bombs?? What fiction have you been reading? We had much better targets to aim our weapons at than civilians and irregation systems.

[Ming]

Serb would like to blame EVERY death that has occured in Iraq since Saddam invaded Kuwait on the Americans.

It doesn't matter whether the person was actually killed through any direct action of America, or if they died of old age or some other disease... The USA is resposible for every last one of them...

[Buck Birdseed]

Well, millions is an exaggeration. About 150 000 as a direct effect of allied bombing, and just under a million from the infrastructure bombing and sanctions.

And the US certainly did bomb civilians and irrigation, what kind of lies are you prepared to randomly believe?

[Sava]

To think that the US does anything out of the goodness of its heart is wrong. There's always an agenda... always something in it for them. And I think that the Germans should be thankful to the US servicemen and women that helped them. But not to the American puds on these boards that think that the rest of the world should worship them and fall in line.

[laurentius]

Yeah, lets be honest for a sec. Americans are no angels, nor is Saddam, nor was the Soviets. It's a little adolescent to try build a link between the Berlin Airlift and whats going on today in Iraq

[DuncanK]

Sava,

You find the worst Avatars.

The choice to handle Iraq this way since desert storm was horrible, and Bush senior doesn't get enough credit for that. The thing is that only military presure on Saddam will make him cooperate as much as he is. If those troops weren't over there right now he would tell all of us to go **** ourselves. Critisize gun boat diplomacy all you want, but in this case it's the only thing, besides war, that will work.