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Kennan and accepted by Truman, has not been
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(Pace Harry Truman
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Truman shows up on every list of presidential rankings as one of the near-greats
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Examples aboud: The Marshall Plan, Nato, and the Truman Doctrine apropos of Greece in 1947, that any Soviet plan to enslave democracies would be met by military force
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My favorite Trumanism, however, is his statement that he would prefer a one-armed economist in his administration, due to the fact that he tired of economic advisors telling him one thing on the one hand, and then contradicting that advice on the other
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Harry Truman, a virtual nonentity unknown to most Americans before his nomination as Vice President, became President after Roosevelt's death
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Truman was originally a small town hat maker elevated by one of the most corrupt, ruthless, and violent political machines in US history
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Truman's reputation today is largely built on admiration for the underdog, as he certainly was
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Truman's fumbling would also lead him to use fear to gain public support, since he did not have either Roosevelt's popularity or his charisma
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And that harvesting of fear would be a major reason much of the world was trapped into the Cold War that Truman largely began
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Many scholars argue that Truman's true target was Stalin, hoping the display of the A bomb would intimidate the Soviets
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” When Truman first defended dropping the A-bomb, he claimed it saved half a million lives
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Finally, Truman failed in his assessment of how the bombings would affect Stalin
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Americans not wanting to admit Truman's failure share his ideological blindness and in some cases his anti Asian racist views
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But as shown in Section Four, neither the A-bomb nor targeting civilians were the greatest loss of life Truman caused
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Truman and the Cold War
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Truman himself, for example, required loyalty oaths within the federal government in 1947, three years before McCarthy began his campaign of hysteria and witch hunts
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McCarthy was really only carrying out in a more reckless way what Truman had already begun
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Truman had none of Roosevelt's abilities or popularity
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For example, Truman repeatedly lied about why he dropped the atomic bomb and its necessity
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Overseas, Truman formulated what has often been called the Truman Doctrine
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The leftists had won two thirds control of the country until Truman intervened
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With his new doctrine, Truman promised that the US would always "support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities
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But this mattered little to Truman
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Truman, by his bumbling and fear mongering, initiated a Cold War that did not need to happen
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Truman's fault in this instance is not that of an evil man
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Truman, of course, used the A-bomb against Japanese civilians though almost all military leaders opposed this
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) Truman also ordered the development and stockpiling of nerve gas, first researched by the Third Reich
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Truman also ordered extensive nuclear testing, with both civilians and soldiers used as test subjects, often without their consent or even knowledge
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) But Truman's biggest use of chemical weapons was using napalm against Chinese and North Korean troops and North Korean civilians
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Truman called one afternoon – to chat, awakening her
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Truman had crossed the path of her life for a purpose, of that she was sure
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Truman’s wartime experience had left him a troubled and lonely man, isolated behind his disfigurement
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In Green Bay, happiness for her was something gained through accruing prestige, promotions and sound financial growth: how hollow, fleeting and insignificant that all now seemed! In Chauita, she’d found happiness that sprang from simply being in this world and sharing time with Truman without the slightest need for pretense or position
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Truman’s and her lives had crossed for a reason
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Afternoon of the following day, while Beth was thinking about what to wear for her visit to La Hacienda, Truman called
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The voice was that of Truman’s enemy, Gene Frazer
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” Beth gazed at him, wondering as she did what the ‘vile reputation’ that Truman had attributed to him was all about
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“Truman? Truman Herrera? You know my buddy? Wow, imagine that
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Resting his arms on the railing, he leaned out into the vacant darkness while within, Beth seethed: Truman had lied! He’d said that he hardly knew Gene Frazer
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“How did you meet our boy, Truman? He’s not the type to pick up women, and I just heard Sylvia mention that this is your first time outside of the US
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“Truman said he worked with some CIA agents during the war; is that how you met?”
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“Yep, I worked with Truman on and off throughout the conflict and I have all the respect in the world for him
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Truman had been my buddy but he suffered some losses very close to him and… Ah, just a minute, I don’t think I should delve into this: it’s rather personal
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Beth glared at the source of the spicy odor filling the air, while trying to picture Truman as cold, dangerous and quick to violence
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” She looked at this grown-up in a cowboy costume, who had the audacity to say with hayseed casualness that the emotional horror Truman suffered was a welcome gift
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There was a violent uprising crushed in 1950, and Puerto Rican terrorists also tried to kill Truman
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“You were saying how delighted you were that Truman’s suffering caused him to be dangerous,” she said, casting an accusing scowl below the Stetson’s brim
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“Ya wanna know why I said that about our boy Truman? He had it in mind back then to track down and crucify the Sandinista officer responsible for the attack that killed his family – I mean the real thing; nail him to a cross and let him hang there until he died
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Because he was high on the Sandinistas’ wanted list, we put his uniform on a corpse and left it behind at a battle site, burning in a pile of rubble, and that was it; Truman was out of the war
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Truman and Eisenhower both ordered H bomb tests on Pacific islands
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She did want to see the rest of Costa Rica, but she missed Truman
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Truman, back from his trip, answered the telephone at Cabañas Arrecifes
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That image occupied her as she packed for an early morning departure, pleased with her decision and very anxious to see Truman
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Hastily wrapping herself in a towel, Beth dashed to the outer room in the hope that Truman might be calling, but it was only Herminia, wailing and sobbing hysterically
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She couldn’t see him, but Truman was out there somewhere
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But, why couldn’t she see Truman’s car, nor spot him in the street? He could have walked, that would explain the missing car, but where was he? Down from the bus at last, she stood waiting, studying the street in either direction
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She gathered up her things and they walked to Cabañas Arrecifes, Herminia’s bandages drawing curious stares from every person they passed and once there, she discovered Truman’s car to be missing and his apartment door locked
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Don Alberto, to her inquiries, replied that yes, Truman knew she was coming today because he instructed them to prepare her room
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She asked Doña Cecilia to call the transit police to see if there had been an accident, ‘Truman is fine,’ she assured her without calling anyone
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“Leon say that Truman work for his brother as traficante
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It was from Truman: an invitation to join him on his patio for dinner
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The facial makeup Herminia had induced her to buy stank to high heaven, but it covered the strange yellow and purple tones and that was good enough for Truman; besides, she would keep her distance
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Truman, wearing a white dinner jacket and open collar blue shirt over a white turtleneck, appeared relaxed, smiling sheepishly as she appeared in the doorway
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If she'd been in a better mood – if he had been there to meet her and they had talked – it could have been a most wonderful surprise, but this had the distinct look of seduction about it: wrong move, Truman! Was he really thinking this was more important than being there when she arrived? Besides, he’d lied to her and he looked ridiculous in that jacket
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“Truman, I’m getting a lot of confusing signals from you and it’s driving me crazy
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Everything isn’t just about you, Truman! But apparently, what I needed doesn’t matter to you
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To hell with behaving herself, where had that ever gotten her in life? She was mad at the world, Truman included, and besides, he was no angel
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‘I’ve know Truman for years’… And the damn place looked like the set for an X-rated movie
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” Truman rubbed at his temples, glancing about as though searching for an escape, but there was nowhere to go
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Despite her grin, Truman’s stolid expression hadn’t changed one iota
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She studied the food, stopping when Truman appeared ready to speak, but he only rolled his eyes and wiped a hand over his face, struggling with thoughts
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Truman sat considering what he had been told
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Even including Truman's recognition, no US president has done more for Israel or Jews than Carter
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When they opened again, she found herself being carried in Truman’s arms
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Truman sat several feet away upon a stool, his back to her, his feet crossed and resting on the railing of the patio appearing contemplative
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Truman returned shortly carrying a tray containing rolls and a pot of steaming coffee placing it on a table beside the hammock
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Momentarily startled, Truman failed to react, then a faint smile rippled across his face only to vanish
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Beth held her gaze on Truman, searching for his eyes, but he wouldn’t lift them to her
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“Why is it, Truman, that you sound more interested in covering up for Gordon Edward than you are in me? I don’t give a damn about him, all right, and what do you mean ‘we’? I’m sorry, but what happened is personal, very personal
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Truman, now a Major, was sitting in the back seat of his shiny Lincoln town car with tinted windows, directing police operations
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Burning gasoline sailed over his shoulder, splashing across Truman’s face and chest
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In 1977, promoted now to Lieutenant Colonel and transferred into the depleted officer corps of the infantry, Truman was leading an assault team around a bend in a dirt road north of Ocotal, near the Honduran border, when a whistling rifle round cut a furrow across his right cheek and punched a neat hole through his ear an instant before the first cracks of AK-47’s rang out
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Truman was among one of the first groups of officers to depart for the training center located on the Honduran island, Roatan
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) Much to Truman’s surprise, John Hall was one of the two CIA men conducting interviews at the training center
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Hall came to see Truman in his room one night and disclosed in strictest confidence that he and Mr
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Truman had already proven he could be relied upon for discretion while assembling dossiers on students in Managua
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Truman enthusiastically accepted the blind offer, proud to have been selected
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In swift surprise attacks, they assaulted Sandinista installations, then melted into the inhospitable expanse of uninhabited marsh, earning for Truman the title of Comandante Cobra, among friend and foe alike
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The cover it bought translated into life itself for Truman and his men
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Scholarships at American universities for children were also in the offering, and Truman made sure that those who aided his troops received it all
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Truman was directed to rendezvous with a Costa Rican fisherman on the narrow peninsula forming the breakwater for the port of Bluefields
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Truman’s instructions were to move the cocaine north, through a series of Contra safe houses, to a contact in Juticalpa, Honduras
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Truman attempted to refuse the payment: the money was supposed to be for the war effort
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So they convinced Roosevelt to drop Wallace and replace him with Harry Truman, a nobody from a corrupt political machine
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Wallace was appointed Secretary of Commerce by Truman, then fired two years later for strongly criticizing Truman's Cold War
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Wallace was halfway right in predicting Truman would cause “a century of fear
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This wound up happening anyway under Truman
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Likely as president, that understanding comes by 1945 or 1946, much the same as Truman, but without Truman's fear mongering, incompetence, and ideological blindness
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Wallace as president likely would push for civil rights much harder than Truman