[bluesdave]

I know the history Bruce. I was wondering if GWB would have done things differently to Roosevelt, and I deliberately left out Japan because I did not want to complicate the story. You are right that the US public was not ready for war, and in 38 the armed forces were run down and poorly equipped, but the point is: would GWB have done something about the situation before Roosevelt eventually did (I'm not meaning any criticism of Roosevelt here - I know that American public opinion was vigorously against involvement, and Europe *was* a long distance away in 38)? Would GWB have instituted a draft in 38, and ramped up production of war equipment?

My guess is also that he would not have done anything differently to Roosevelt. He did not have an equivalent of 9/11, so public opinion would have been fixed in its opposition. As you say, the US did not feel "personally" involved in the war until Pearl Harbor. At least Roosevelt had the sense to bring in the draft in 1940, so he was able to increase the army somewhat, though they remained poorly equipped - I have a video of the war games the US army held in 41 (I think), and many of the men did not even carry real guns - they were wooden models!

What got me thinking about this, was GWB's constant claims that he needs to stop Iran, Syria, and North Korea before they become a threat to world peace. If he believes that now, would he have felt the same way about Germany (Hitler), if he was running the US in 38? I heard an interview on NPR with Ted Koppel this weekend, and he is convinced that the US will be at war with Iran by the end of 2007 (he said that it would only be after an act of provocation by Iran - ie. they would have to take some action against the US).