Scott Horton

First of all, I'm not the world's greatest expert on World War II.

I've read a few books about it, but I've never written about it, hardly.

I think I wrote one essay about it years ago.

Well, when I say I don't know anything about it, it's, you know, you can judge like relatively, you know, compared to what I know about other things or compared to how much other people know about the same thing or what, you know, compare how you want.

But, you know, I got some useful things to say about it, but I guess I can disclaim too that like there could very well be things I'm overlooking or whatever as well, you know, but.

You know, my basic version of World War II is that it's all Woodrow Wilson's fault.

And that what happened was when, by the time Woodrow Wilson got us into the First World War, the damn thing was over.

You know, his whole slogan was peace without victory, but that was what was at hand.

Nobody was winning and nobody could win.

The Soviets, you know, the commies had taken over Russia and pulled them out of the war.

They were freezing to death, you know?

Or no, I guess, no, the commies hadn't taken over yet, but the Tsarist troops were essentially getting nowhere, frozen out on the battlefield on the Eastern Front.

On the Western Front, the French, the British, and the Germans, everybody was freezing.

Nobody had any boots or ammo or anything, and no one was getting anywhere.

The Germans were on French soil, but barely.

And the whole thing is already a stalemate.

It's a stalemate.

And then idiot Woodrow Wilson comes and dumps hundreds of thousands of American GIs into the fight.

And they tilt the balance in power so far in favor of the British and the French that they're able to force the German surrender.

on completely unreasonable terms.