Comparing Stalin and Hitler

Adolf Hitler is widely considered one of the most evil dictators in the history of the world. His actions of the Holocaust and during WWII give him the reputation as one of the most terrible men in history. Joseph Stalin, leader of Russia during the Russian Revolution, is not usually classified in the same category as leaders like Hitler, but some of his actions compare almost identically to Hitler. His 5-year plans were an attempt to speed up industrialization in the country, but instead they starved millions of people. Man made famine in the Ukraine also resulted in millions more dead. This widespread genocide is not only comparable to Hitler's Holocaust, but in some ways is even worse. The total death count is still unknown, as many of he bodies have yet to even be found. His purging of opposition to the Communist party matches up directly with Hitler's purging of Nazi opposition during WWII. The pair at one point even considered a partnership, but these plans were foiled when Hitler's Nazis invaded Russia. From that point forward, the two hated each other. It is interesting when you see their hatred for one another, as they are almost identical people. They come from almost the exact same backgrounds, and the timelines of their lives run almost parallel. The major difference between Hitler and Stalin is that Hitler created a World War against him, and with Stalin's joining against him, Stalin's terror was almost overlooked and overshadowed by that of Hitler. It is interesting to see the similarities between Hitler and Stalin, and it is difficult to believe that Stalin in some ways was a worse man than Hitler, but when you look into the details and read the deeper meaning in some of Stalin's actions, the facts simply don't lie.

Indian Revolution - Was Gandhi Succesfull?

Gandhi is generally recognized as the inventor of peaceful protest and is considered one of the most influential people in world history. But was he successful in his goals for the country? Personally, I think that he was successful because he was able to lead India into independence, despite some violence breaking out. His goal was to gain independence through peaceful protest and not have to resort to violence. Gandhi personally thought that he was a failure because he was unhappy with the deaths during the partition of the country. However, despite the deaths and violence of the partition in his particular country, he instilled the idea of peaceful resistance and Satyagraha throughout the world, and essentially created a less violent world as a whole. Gandhi was only thinking about his impact on his corner of the world, but his demonstrations in India brought to light that there were more ways then violence to achieve the reforms that you want. The sole reason for the violence in the partition of the country was the tension that existed between the Hindus and Muslims, and Gandhi thought that for some reason, the tension and the deaths that came from it were his responsibility. Despite the violence in is country, he cannot blame himself for the tension that existed before he even came into the picture. It is unfortunate that Gandhi died with the belief that he was a failure, because today he is celebrated as one of the most influential people in the world's history. His long lasting impact on the world has created less violence, and although his ideas have been modified, his peaceful resistance has been used in countless revolutions and protests since his death.

Chairman Mao: Was Mao a Good Leader?

Mao Zedong was the ruler of the Communist party in China and was widely beloved by the people of the country. He led the people of China on the Long March, and emerged as the new leader of China. Despite all of Mao's successes he made some decisions that lead to the question, was Chairman Mao a good leader? To answer this question, we must first compare his success and failures as a leader. His major success were being able to overthrow the Nationalist party and remove Chiang Kai-Shek from power. This was a major turning point in China, as it began the Communist rule in China. Mao then went on to lead major reforms, such as a major overhaul of the feudal system and ending the last bits of imperialism from China. However, he wasn't without his flaws, as some of his reforms, especially the Great Leap Forward (an attempt at industrialization that ended with the deaths of about 20 million people), ended poorly and turned out to be some of the darkest periods in Chinese history. His utilization of the Red Guard could be compared to some of the worst dictators of the last century. His squelching of knowledge and learning seems ill-advised looking back now. Yet despite all of Mao's faults, I personally feel that the good out weighs the bad. Personally I think that without Mao, China would not be in the position of power that it holds today, as they would still be trapped in the free-for-all of capitalism and imperialism. Mao's reforms on the country created long lasting impacts that were very important for Chinese history and are a huge reason why China is one of the most powerful countries today.

Death of Osama bin Laden

On May 1st, 2011, at 3 pm EST, President Barack Obama gave the go ahead that would set in motion a secret Navy SEALs mission. The objective of the mission was to kill the man who has sent the country into so much turmoil through the attacks on 9/11; the man who has been hidden from us for almost 10 years, taunting our nation with video tapes delivered through couriers. At 11:30 pm EST, Barack Obama interrupted live television with the announcement: Osama bin Laden had been killed. The country as a whole was shocked, as no news had come of bin Laden in months (for reasons that would be explained later on). As Mets and Phillies fans began to hear the news, chants of "USA!" could be heard throughout the capacity Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Death is never something to be cheered for, but even on this cloudless Sunday evening, people across the country relished the death of this man, in a melancholy sort of way. This man has stood as the face of opposition to our nation for nearly 10 years, and to suddenly hear of his demise is simply unbelievable. This man, whom we stood by and watched as he killed our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, was ended Sunday night by an American bullet. This moment is one that people will look back on in 10 years and say, "I remember exactly where I was when I heard the news," just like we do today when we look back on September 11th, 2001. The reason no news had been heard about bin Laden is months is because the U.S. had been tracing his path since August, and if you look further back, they first got on the trail when George W. Bush was still the president in 2005. In 2005, interrogations at Guantanamo Bay revealed the nickname of a courier who serviced Osama, and in 2007, the courier was identified by name. In August 2010, tracking of the courier leads the CIA to the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In September, the CIA began evaluating whether or not bin Laden was in the compound. By February, the CIA felt nearly certain that Osama was hiding away there, and Obama and the National Security Council hold upwards of five meetings regarding how to attack the compound. The idea of a carpet bombing came up multiple times, but was shot down for fear that there would be no way of telling if Osama had been killed. In April, a helicopter raid mission had been determined, and an elite team of Navy SEALs (SEAL Team 6) begin practicing the raid, as Washington monitors the rehearsals. On May 1st, at about 3:30pm the strike team arrives inside the compound. Approximately a half hour to 60 minutes later, Barack Obama and his National Security Council received the code "Geronimo EKIA" from the strike team. "Geronimo" was code for bin Laden, while "EKIA" stood for "Enemy Killed in Action." These words signalled the end of the mission, and the completion of the first steps to ending the war in the middle east. This sparked tons of emotion throughout the country, as I discussed before, yet some people were left unhappy. People worried that Osama's death will spark terroristic retaliation in the states and we are unprepared for it. Many people speculated that the death was even staged, and that they hadn't really killed bin Laden, and demanded photos of his lifeless body. Earlier today, the CIA confirmed that they had decided not to release the photos to the public, despite speculations. The U.S. did all that they could to ensure that no one was offended, even going as far as to give him a proper burial at sea. Yet people are still speculating, which I see as very unfortunate considering this is one of the greatest victories our nation has seen in years. Despite the controversy, the United States must be commended for this operation, as well as the brave SEALs that finished the job. Somewhere in the world a soldier knows that he was the one that put an end to Osama bin Laden, and although we may never see him or know his name, he is a hero to our country, and we thank him.

Photo 1: President Obama and National Security Counsel watch the Osama mission live via SEALs helmet cam. http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/ss-110501-binladenreax/ss-110502-binLaden-jc-01.jpg

Photo 2: A U.S. soldier stand before the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. http://www.visitingdc.com/images/tomb-unknown-soldier-picture.jpg

3 Interesting Side Notes:

1 - The code Geronimo was actually an Apache Indian leader who resisted the U.S. governments attempts to consolidate his people onto reservations, and he led a series of raids against American settlements.

2 - Osama bin Laden's death was announced May 1st, 2011, exactly 66 years after the death of Adolf Hitler was announced. Although Hitler actually died April 30th, 1945, this is still an interesting relation.

3 - Osama bin Laden's will has been recovered, and sources say that it explicitly says his children are NOT to join al-Qaeda.

Muammar Gaddafi and The Libyan Revolution

Muammar Gaddafi has been the leader of Libya since he overthrew King Idris in 1969. Now, 42 years later, Colonel Gaddafi is turning on his own in a Reign of Terror-esque way. He is persecuting those who oppose him, and even executing thousands in order to retain his thrown, yet in the mean time he goes on news networks and talks about how much people love him. But in reality, the Gaddafi led Libyan government is facing mass uprisings and rebellions, and even cries of revolution are being heard throughout the nation. On February 17, 2011, the Libyan government began to see many protests against the government, and Gaddafi's reign to be more specific. In the recent months, the force against Gaddafi's reign has grown stronger. In order to counter the protests Gaddafi launched a reign of terror-like assault on those who oppose the regime, resulting in a true civil war, pitting the Libyan citizens against the Gaddafi controlled government. It is believed that more than 1000 deaths can be attributed to the breakouts of violence. The nation has become so unstable that the United Nations declared Libyan airspace as a no-fly zone. This is one of many actions taken by the U.N. in an effort to protect Libyans from Gaddafi's counter-revolutionaries. Gaddafi's terror has become so detrimental to the nation of Libya that even men who once stood at the colonel's side are now trying to force him out of office. Former justice minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil came out recently, stating that he had evidence that would convict Gaddafi of planning the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. The Libyan protestors (which is no longer a simple group of protestors, but the Libyan nation as a whole) have even ordered the killing of Gaddafi. Gaddafi now has ordered the jailing of multiple government officials who have risen up against him (including his defense minster, who resigned because he refused to order the shooting of Libyan citizens) and is ordering mass killings of unarmed civilians (a la Robespierre). The violence sees no signs of slowing, as Gaddafi will not rest until every man that stands opposite him is eliminated. Gaddafi has no plans of stepping down as Libya's leader, and the civil war will only grow bloodier as time continues. As a final remark, I leave you with this question: Is Gaddafi's terror comparable to Robespierre's during the French Revolution, and if so is Gaddafi's terror more or less justified then that of Robespierre?