Written by Frank Li
Throughout human history, some leaders are remembered for their achievements (e.g. Deng Xiaoping), while others for their mistakes (e.g. George W. Bush), and still others for both (e.g. Mao Zedong).
What about Nikita Khrushchev and John F. Kennedy? Both of them should be remembered for their grave mistakes!
Khrushchev made a grave mistake by giving Russia’s Crimea to Ukraine in 1954, a mistake which is finally being corrected by President Putin!
JFK made a grave mistake in 1962 by allowing public-sector unions, a mistake which is not yet widely recognized in America, despite my repeated and explicit warnings (Detroit, Public-Sector Unions, and JFK) …
1. Nikita Khrushchev
According to Wikipedia:
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev[a] (April 15 [O.S. April 3] 1894 – September 11, 1971) was a politician who led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964. Khrushchev was responsible for the partial de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union, for backing the progress of the early Soviet space program, and for several relatively liberal reforms in areas of domestic policy. Khrushchev’s party colleagues removed him from power in 1964, replacing him with Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and Alexei Kosygin as Premier.
2. John F. Kennedy
According to Wikipedia:
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), commonly known as “Jack” or by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until he was assassinated in November 1963.
3. JFK and Nikita Khrushchev
JFK and Khrushchev will be forever linked by the Cuban missile crisis, as shown by the photo below.
For more, read: Longevity: American Democracy vs. Soviet Communism.
4. Khrushchev’s mistake on Crimea
Here is a good article about Khrushchev’s mistake on Crimea: Why Khrushchev gave Russia’s Crimea to Ukraine. Here is an excerpt:
Vladimir Putin claimed not to know how it had happened when he signed his defiant treaty to annex Crimea today: ‘No one could imagine that Russia and Ukraine could become different states. But the USSR broke up. I don’t know why Khrushchev gave Crimea to Ukraine. Maybe he wanted to hide his own wrongdoings towards Ukrainians in 1930s.’
Bottom line: Crimea is too important for Russia to lose for many reasons, not the least of which is that it’s Russia’s key access to the Black Sea. The recent revolution in Ukraine (Crimea, Ukraine, Russia, and the U.S.) gave Russia a unique opportunity to get Crimea back. Russia did, thus having finally corrected Khrushchev’s mistake in 1954!
5. JFK’s mistake on public-sector unions
On January 17, 1962, President Kennedy signed Executive Order 10988, allowing public-sector workers to unionize against the people of the United States of America!
With Executive Order 10988, the servant became the master overnight, and the U.S. has been upside down ever since!
As a matter of fact, Executive Order 10988 has been so devastating to America that it is obviously the root cause of many of our biggest problems today. As America fails, city by city and state by state, due to unaffordable wages, perks, and pensions for public-sector workers, the blame should rightfully be attributed to JFK (Detroit, Public-Sector Unions, and JFK).
When will America finally realize JFK’s mistake and have it fixed before it’s too late?
6. Discussion
Will Russia go beyond Crimea? Most likely not (Putin signs Crimea treaty, will not seize other Ukraine regions), despite all the talk, including what Mikhail Gorbachev said recently (Morning after in Crimea):
“In essence, southern Ukraine is just like Crimea. Its population is Russian. It was civilized by Russians.”
For those Americans who think “Russia’s ambition is more than Crimea” (Clinton warns of further Russian aggression), they are either ignorant, as they don’t understand history and modern Russia (America: What is Russia, Anyway?), or evil, as they are still hopelessly deluded by the Cold War. For more, read: America: A Culture of War!
Finally, Khrushchev’s mistake is nothing when compared with JFK’s mistake. Yet, Russia has the guts to fix Khrushchev’s mistake, while America has yet to recognize JFK’s mistake! What does that say and what does that mean?
Think, America!
7. Closing
America, stay out of this Ukraine/Russia thing and stop embarrassing ourselves, as well as the world, with meaningless sanctions!
America, it’s time to look inward: correcting our own mistakes at home before it is too late! For more, read my book: “The GOP Bible for 2016”!