Political Crossfire Forums

[Niels Buus]

In retrospect, do you think NATO, USA or European Powers should have intervened and threatened Russia, when they violently cracked down on the uprising in Hungary in 1956 and the democratic reformpolicies in Czechoslovakia?

[Slava]

I say 'no', because:

1. This would have led to a new (possibly nuclear) war in Europe.
2. This would have posed a threat to Soviet dominance in Eastern and Central Europe and allow NATO to move its weapons closer to the Russia's borders (like now).

[Shiva]

I voted 'no' partly for one of the reasons given by Slava; that this would have led to a possible nuclear war in Europe. And partly because I think that we (in former Czechoslovakia, at least) should not have listened to Dubcek and should rather have continued in our non-violent resistance to the Soviet and Warsaw Pact occupation. It was working and I think that the Czech, Moravian and Slovak non-violent struggle against the occupation would have eventually succeeded had we continued.

We put too much value on Dubcek, unfortunately.

[Meanstrick]

I agree with those two guys....NATO was not crazy so they made right choice to stay away.

[Jehan]

I say no, because it would have probably prompted nuclear war.

[Dongfanghong]

The two events, in retrospect are identical. They are an attempt by real Communists (and perhaps elements of the ultra-left revisionists) to form a government not controlled by the Soviet Social-Imperialists lead by the Revisionist Khruschevites. Perhaps NATO should not have caused a war, but the world's people should have reacted in the same manour they did when the Tripartite tried to invade Egypt.

[Robweiller]

Sadly, when both of those events occured, the West had more important issues to deal with. In 1956, it was more interested in the Suez Crisis than in the Hungarian Uprising. As for 1968... the beginning of international terrorism, student riots in Europe, Vietnam, Martin Luther King etc.

[Dongfanghong]

In reality, neither East nor West could do anything. The real Communists, in the Far East couldn't have done anything and China herself was in the chaos of the Cultural Revolution while North Vietnam was in the midst of the Second Indochinese War. Nicolae Ceausescu of Romania was the biggest critic in Europe and he could do nothing except protest it at the Warsaw Pact and temporarily remove Romania from active membership in it. No one could have done anything, but it is still surprising how many "Comrades" support such and how people seem to ignore Soviet Imperialism when sought just as much hegemony as the Americans.

[venator]

What could NATO do at that time? - nothing if u ask me... The Soviet grip in Eastern Europe was too strong at that time. Not until the Eastern block itself began to disintegrate from the 1970s onwards could any actions be made by the Western world.

;)