Warlords
Under scrutiny
Delusion and error
Churchill |
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Churchill's chief delusion during the war lay in overestimating Britain's power and influence in relation to that of the United States and the Soviet Union, and also in what he thought of as his 'special relationship', not only with Roosevelt but also with Stalin. In fact, his relationship with the US president was never as good as he – and many subsequent commentators – imagined. Diaries, notes of meetings and other documents released since the deaths of the main protagonists show that Roosevelt was suspicious of what he saw as Churchill's (and Britain's) imperialist tendencies, and that he even regarded the British prime minister as something of a drunk. Nor did Churchill exert anything like the influence he thought he had over Stalin. The latter simply said what was necessary in order to get US and British aid during the war, but knew that the might of the Red Army would give him the power to do what he wanted in much of Europe afterwards. Both Roosevelt and Stalin recognised each other, and not Churchill, as the major power-brokers in the post-war world.
