For the first time in recent history, American ground units had been committed during the initial days of a war; there had been no allies to hold the line while America prepared. For the first time, many Americans could understand what had happened to Britain at Dunkirk. Almost subconsciously, Americans had come to believe there would always be someone else to hold the line at first. Once aroused, a democracy can match a totalitarian state in every facet of strength—it can be stronger, for totalitarianism has built-in bureaucratic weaknesses. A Hitler can command, and men march—but a Hitler
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