Christian Lheureux <[log in to unmask]> wrote in message news:<[log in to unmask]>... > Michael Baier wrote : > > > Why didn't the US declare war to the Spanish dictatorship of Gen. Francisco > Franco, at the time so many American citizens (Ernest Hemingway comes to my > mind, obviously) were fighting as private citizens in the ranks of the > Republican army ? > Hemingway wasn't in the Republican, or any army or even the militias, as was Orwell. Hemingway was in Spain covering the war as a newspaper correspondant. The answers to your Q are many. Roosevelt, as did the leaders of France and England thought that intervention in Spain would lead to another world war, esp. since Germany and Italy were aiding the Nationalists. Secondly, many people thought that fighting against Franco automatically meant that you were fighting for International Communism. And many Catholics in the US actually supported Franco since he seemed to support the church in Spain while the Republicans seemed to be anti-Catholic. And Roosevelt was advised by Joe Kennedy Sr that supporting the Republicans would lose him the Catholic vote. Mrs. Roosevelt was for supporting the Republicans, and he wrote afterards that not supporting Republican Spain was a mistake. And keep in mind, there was a difference between supporting one side or another and allowing arms to be sold to the legally constituted government of another country. This is what should have been allowed but wasn't, even though everyone knew Texaco was selling oil to the Natioanlists. All those German and Italian tanks and planes needed fuel. hth Pjk * To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, * * etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *