von Ribbentrop Lives!

They'reGoin'ThroughATightOne
BlitzkriegBopVille

Joachim von Ribbentrop was the German foreign minister that cajoled British high society and Prime Minister Lloyd George into cosying up to the little Bossman in the the mid '30's.

He was also the man who bamboozled Neville Chamberlain into appeasement in 1938 with endless talk of bombs and death and weapons and mass destruction when he was Ambassador to Britain.

Always one who could be counted on to say anything in the cause of his mustachioed boss, Ribbentrop drove friends and enemies alike around the bend. Case in point - here's what Benito Mussolini had to say about him:

"Ribbentrop belongs to the category of Germans who are a disaster for their country. He talks about making war right and left, without naming an enemy or defining an objective."

Now, while it might be a stretch for some, others might find some parallels between von Ribbentrop and former US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

And not just because Powell could give the kind of great bamboozlement about bombs and death and WMDs that would make Ol' Ribby* weep if he were still with us today.

No.

Because it turns out that Mr. Powell has something else in common with his historical counterpart - unwavering loyalty to the bossman to the bitter end.

Here's the end story on von Ribbentrop:

"Ribbentrop was a defendant at the Nuremberg Trials, and the Allies' International Military Tribunal found him guilty of all charges proffered against him. Even in prison, Ribbentrop remained subservient to Hitler, stating "Even with all I know, if in this cell Hitler should come to me and say 'Do this!', I would still do it."


And here's what may be, hopefully, the end of story for Powell:

"Asked about editorials asserting that he had put loyalty "ahead of leadership," Mr. Powell parried the question. "Well, loyalty is a trait that I value, and yes, I am loyal," he replied. "And there are some who say, 'Well, you shouldn't have supported it, you should have resigned.' But I'm glad that Saddam Hussein is gone."

Notice that the this pseudo 'objective' is finally stated now, almost three years after all the talk of bombs and death and weapons of mass destruction.

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*Ol' Ribby: You just know that would be the knickname that would have been given to him by a certain (notso)World(ly) Leader if he were onside, and on point, today. Heck, in the eyes of the folks running the Cheney Administration Ribby might have even been just the right pick to be the newly unveiled head of FEMA, or at the very least their Ambassador to the UN if not for the presence of the irrepressible Mr. Bolton.
And In This Vein: If you think about the historical parallels in this way, it's not that difficult to view B. Liar as Shrub's Neville the Appeaser instead of anything even remotely Churchillian.


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