Word: arons
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...GREAT DEBATE by Raymond Aron. 265 pages. Doubleday...
With lucidity and quiet understatement, the distinguished French pundit sifts the various theories of nuclear deterrence-U.S., Soviet, European-that have transformed the nature of war and diplomacy. In the past, Aron points out, war was simply the last stage of strategy, Clausewitz' "extension of politics." Now, as in the 1962 Cuban confrontation, the great powers are committed to a war of bluff in which strategists insist that the bluff must never be called or war declared. "For the first time in history," writes Aron, "entire weapons systems, developed at the cost of billions of dollars, are retired...
Conquest by Coup d'Etat. It was not mere vanity that motivated De Gaulle. His obstinacy had a political purpose. The Communists, Aron convincingly shows in this superlative account of the Liberation, were about to seize power in many parts of France. They made up a great part of the Resistance, and no one could fault them for their courage during the Occupation. De Gaulle realized that only by appearing as an utterly uncompromising, incorruptible leader could he win the confidence of Frenchmen and stave off a Communist takeover...
Calculated Insults. De Gaulle pursued the same tactics throughout France. He was followed by what Aron calls his "Trojan horse," a column of administrators specially trained in London and Algiers to take over the French government. In southern France, the Communists had seized power in majorities, but De Gaulle's well-schooled lieutenants eased them out with a mininum of bloodshed. De Gaulle went out of his way to insult the Communists publicly, no matter how bravely they lad fought in the Resistance. In Toulouse, when a Communist in proletarian overalls casually introduced himself, De Gaulle snapped: "Stand...
...Stalin. Later, as head of the provisional government, ic brought some Communists into his Cabinet. But by then he could afford to be conciliatory, for the Communist threat had receded. For all the praise and blame heaped on De Gaulle, little has been made of this particular triumph. Robert Aron has finally given it the scholarly attention and admiration it deserves...