Hi Joseph,



The greatest 'dropping of the ball' in the 20th century must be the failure of the Allies to commit sufficient forces to secure the Dardanelles very soon after the outbreak of WWI.



Doing so, would have changed the course of subsequent history immensely. Turkey would have been part of Europe, for one thing. And the Levant may well have been European territory as well. Handy that.



Rivaling that dropping of the ball is the failure of the West to properly and meaningfully engage the USSR and later, Russia, after the fall of communism. The biggest opportunity in our modern world presented itself -- and we yawned.



Or perhaps there was still too much fear and resentment (too many old Cold Warriors still holding positions of power and still clinging to their old ways, though the world had profoundly changed around them).



No such lapse occurred in the aftermath of WWII however.



When we look at Germany and Japan, we know that the politicians and military leaders of the day knew what they were doing and didn't shrink back from history's call.



Both countries have added cultural richness and impressive economic power to the free world since that time. If anything, both nations seem to be improving on their exemplary track records in recent decades.



What if the leaders of postwar America and Europe had dropped the Germany ball, or the Japan ball? It's unthinkable.



What if Kissinger had of failed to 'play the China card' in his era? Again, unthinkable.



Yet, that is exactly what has happened since the end of the Cold War.



We had the opportunity (and some might say, the responsibility) to engage with Russia to our benefit and to the world's benefit.



Russia could've been the next Germany or Japan, nations that have added immeasurably to our developed world and supported us in our many endeavors on, and even off the planet.



Of course with the gift of democracy, Russia has become a 'competitor nation' and could be viewed as a threat.



But the same was true, postwar Germany or Japan.



Skillful diplomacy prevented both former Axis powers from (potentially) rebuilding a war machine to threaten us, and skillful economists prevented both from (potentially) threatening us economically.



In regards to Russia, we're now reaping exactly what we've sown.



Russia, now realizing that it has no partnership with the West, is compelled to act to shore-up its positions, strategically, militarily, economically and culturally.



Through neglect we've pushed Russia into a corner, and what do we do? We complain that they're in the corner.



The West could've owned Asia Minor (think of the strategic implications of that during the Cold War) but we dropped the ball on that in 1914/15.



The West could've made an ally of Russia along the lines of postwar Germany or Japan -- instead, we're trying to restart the Cold War and have sent them away to form-up with China and India.



I appreciated your fine article, Joseph.



Cheers, JBS

http://johnbrianshannon.com