The Truth About the Berlin Airlift

Jeff Jacoby at the Boston Globe tells what went missing from Obama's speech -- among other things, a chance to identify himself with an example of Democratic presidential toughness and resolve.

Comments

[RW Rogers]

Jacoby has a point, but if he really knows as much as he claims then he would know that the Brits were crucial to the successful implementation of the Berlin Airlift. While the Americans had just thought about the diea, the Brits had already done something similar, had already calculated the needs for the city on an on-going basis, and had the planes in the area already.

What I mean to say is "Let's give credit where credit is due."

[Donna B.]

"...Obama seemed to go out of his way not to say plainly..."

That sentence should have ended with "anything."

RW, don't forget the French. Although they didn't sign on with many planes or pilots (they were already busy in Indochina), they acted "unilaterally" to knock out a radio tower in the way of construction of their construction of the Tegel airport in the French sector.

Tegel was finished in 90 days using mostly female Berliners.

The British were much more logistically ready than the U.S., but both had done "little lifts" to support their troops.

I remember reading somewhere an account of the visionary who insisted on negotiating the air routes. I have spent over an hour trying to find reference to that. Perhaps it was in a novel.