Obamateurism of the Day

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Those academics who learn the politically-correct, facile interpretation of history are doomed to look like fools when they open their mouths. Barack Obama proved at least the latter of these two axioms when he issued a joint statement over the weekend with Dmitri Medvedev on the 65th anniversary of the meeting at Elbe:

“The atmosphere of mutual trust and shared commitment to victory, which accompanied the historic handshake at the Elbe, is especially called for today when Russia and the United States are building a partnership for the sake of a stable and prosperous world,” said the statement published by the Kremlin.

“We are convinced that, acting in the ‘spirit of the Elbe’ on an equitable and constructive basis, we can successfully tackle any tasks facing our nations and effectively deal with the challenges of the new millennium.”

The “atmosphere of mutual trust”? This could only be uttered by a man with the certainty of the uneducated about World War II — the kind of man who could have the Americans liberating Auschwitz, for example. Neither FDR nor Winston Churchill trusted Josef Stalin or the Russians any more than absolutely necessary, and for good reason. And to the extent they did at Potsdam, it turned into a 50-year nightmare for eastern Europe, which the Russians occupied until the end of the Cold War.

Surely, Barack Obama had to be aware of that history. It was in all the papers in 1989. As one commenter put it at Reuters:

You mean we support the mutual trust between the US and Russia like the one that allowed Soviet troops to reportedly rape from tens of thousands to two million women after the capture of Berlin, and 50,000 during and after the occupation of Budapest?[The one that allowed the Soviets in former Axis countries, such as Germany, Romania and Hungary, to viewe cities, villages and farms as being open to pillaging and looting? The one that allowed the Soviets to dominate, rule, and oppress eastern Europe for the next 44 years? That kind of mutual trust?

Yeah, that’s exactly what Obama means, unfortunately.

Maybe instead of tossing out the bust of Winston Churchill, Obama should have spent some of his time reading Churchill’s The Second World War, which would have made the idea of honoring the “mutual trust” between the Soviet Union and the Anglo-American alliance pure comedy.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!