Roosevelt, as shrewd in war as in peace.

[Joe Chi Minh]

I'm now reading a fascinating book entitled, "English History 1914-1945" by the Englsh historian, A J P Taylor. His allusions to the persistent beliefs and occasional acts of immense folly on the part of high-ranking individuals in government are so concise and cursory that you have to laugh at his cynicism/realism, as he breezes on.

However, his view of Roosevelt's role in the war in Europe in WWII, at least from the point of view of US interests, while just as epigrammatically expressed, was very laudatory. Here is the extract I have in mind:

"After the war, when the Great Powers fell out, men everywhere accused the other side of manouevring for future advantages while the war was on. All the accusations were unfounded. But there can be no doubt which powers derived the most advantage from the way the war worked out, however much they tried not to. Soviet Russia did most of the fighting against Germany, sustained nine tenths of the casualties, and suffered catatrophic economic losses. The British suffered considerable economic loss and sustained comparatively few casualties. The Americans made great economic gains and had a trifling number of casualties fighting against Germany - their main losses were in the war against Japan. In short, the British and Americans sat back, though not of malice aforethought, while the Russians defeated Germany for them. Of the three great men at the top, Roosevelt was the only one who knew what he was doing: he made the United States the greatest power in the world at virtually no cost."