Never heard of it until I read this here:
Not only Cronkite and Rather participated in this appalling exercise [to defend the Warren Commission], so too did Eric Sevareid, appearing at the end of the last show and saying that there are always those who believe in conspiracies, whether it be about Yalta, China or Pearl Harbor. He then poured it on by saying some people still think Hitler is alive and concluding that it would be impossible to cover up the assassination of a President.
The Pearl Harbor conspiracy theory is pretty well known, but what is the one about the Yalta Conference? Or China for that matter? This is circa 1975.
The Yalta conspiracy theory was popularized by McCartney, and argues that deep state Communists, within the State Department and Roosevelt Administration, deliberately "sold out" Eastern Europe during the Yalta Conference; gifting the region to Stalin in order to fulfill their evil aims of supporting global Communism.
It is a deeply ahistorical lie, as it was not American benevolence that led to Eastern Europe joining into the Soviet Sphere of influence, but the fact that all such territories were liberated by the USSR, whose Red Army constituted the overwhelmingly most powerful Allied military force in the European continent immediately after the end of the Second World War.
If anything, Communists would have a greater factual basis to argue that there was a "Yalta betrayal", only the other way around. That being the Soviet Union's decision to "stop at Berlin" and surrender Western European workers to capitalism. The real situation is more nuanced, but that is an infinitely more credible theory than that of the "Yalta Conspiracy".
The China theory is very similar, arguing that the same Deep State Communists who sold out Eastern Europe to Stalin also abandoned the KMT and supported the CCP's victory in China. It is equally stupid, no amount of U.S support could've propped up the shambolic and corrupt Republic of China in the face of a motivated and effective popular revolution. But it similarly appeals to the McCarthyist conspiracy that every setback experienced by global Capital is the fault of a hidden
Judeo-BolshevikCommunist conspiracy.Thanks! The idea that there are communists in the US deep state is pretty unhinged. As I understand it, Stalin got along much better with FDR than Truman, who is responsible for starting the Cold War and dividing Germany and Korea, so framing it as the West betraying the Soviets makes some sense.
almost all US personnel who went to china in ww2 preferred the communists to the KMT. this was part good diplomacy on the reds' part, but also their conduct in the war was, to yankee eyes, much more successful. none of the US guys were actually communists, they just recognized which side was or could help them beat Japan better, and it wasn't the KMT.
its more ridiculous than that though, after WW2 the US still swept in and handed the KMT the japanese-occupied territory, people talk about 'soviets giving red china manchuria' but the US held the coast and capital (very populous and industrial regions) for the KMT. until 1947 they still gave the KMT weapons. if, after all that fucking help the KMT still lost, maybe the nationalists just weren't going to win
China may be referring to a conspiracy theory popular in far right circles in the 60s and 70s that the People's Liberation Army is secretly amassing troups in California for an invasion of the US mainland.
I can totally see QAnon bringing this one back. They'll believe anything about "Commiefornia".
They did but it was coming north from Canada iirc, something about a bunker with 30,000 chinese troops being blown up
edit: 50,000 & Maine https://www.sunjournal.com/2020/12/15/fringe-folks-on-social-media-wonder-if-chinese-troops-have-invaded-maine/
Conservative dipshits look at a map challenge (impossible)
Did the Chinese soldiers get up there through one of their many holes dug straight through the earth
Me and 49,999 of my comrades vibing in the Brotherhood of Nod subterranean APC on our way to invade America. Not a phone in sight, just dudes living in the moment.
I was actually half expecting somebody to say they've heard the same thing on fox news last week.
