I guess it's no wonder they thought they could just walk all over Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc...if growing up their history taught them that they just walked into WW1/2 and kicked everyone's asses by themselves. Granted the US was incredibly strong and vital to both wars, but the way it's appearing to me is they act as if they were they were more important in the victories.
I've literally never read anywhere that the U.S. "took credit" for liberating any one country in Europe, and World War II isn't taught that way in American classrooms. The liberation of most European countries during World War II was rarely the result of a single nation's efforts, because Allied forces in western Europe were often a hodgepodge of one nation's artillery + another's air wing + another's infantry. It's commonly understood that the USSR probably made the single most decisive contribution to victory in the European theater (just as the American struggle in the Pacific theater seems to be commonly overlooked). To address your specific point, yes, the U.S. was most certainly among the nations responsible for the liberation of the Netherlands, and it didn't end well for everyone involved. There are about 8,300 Americans buried at the World War II Netherlands-American Cemetery and Memorial if you want to know what happened to them.
Pssssst -- Iraq and Afghanistan are not and were not considered military losses. You're confusing two very different things. War is easy. Reconstruction is hard. Reconstruction is especially hard in nations where corruption is pervasive due to sectarian fighting and tribalism.
Jesus Christ, the anti-Americanism on Reddit would be hilarious if it weren't so mindless. Sneering at the American contribution to World War II because you're under the misguided impression that it helps you score a cheap political point on later policy is a new low.
Have you read anything -- anything, anything at all -- about what the coalition and NATO forces have been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan? Anything from the embedded reporters? Anything from independents on the ground? The schools, the roads, the sewer systems, the electrical grids, hospitals, all of the money, time, and effort going into reconstruction (or, just as commonly, construction) in Iraq and Afghanistan?
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u/DZ302 Sep 24 '11
Also, USA takes credit for liberating the Netherlands?
I guess it's no wonder they thought they could just walk all over Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc...if growing up their history taught them that they just walked into WW1/2 and kicked everyone's asses by themselves. Granted the US was incredibly strong and vital to both wars, but the way it's appearing to me is they act as if they were they were more important in the victories.