Churchill was more a liability than an asset to the free world
b'Does the fact that Winston Churchill is routinely cited as Britain\\u2019s greatest hero say more about us than it does about him? Yes, he warned us of the need to face down Hitler when others were urging appeasement and yes, he gave a good speech. But what of his tendency to initiate disastrous military campaigns \\u2013 think of Gallipoli in World War I or Norway in World War II. What of the fact that his generals constantly had to restrain him from embarking on even more madcap ventures? Could it be that the British had - and still have \\u2013 a deep need to lionise their war leader in order to disguise from themselves the relative insignificance of Britain\\u2019s contribution to defeating the Nazis in comparison with that of the Soviet Union or America? Is our refusal to diminish Churchill\\u2019s stature born of the fear that we may have to diminish our own?\\n\\nWe were joined by a panel of experts at Methodist Central Hall Westminster in September 2009 to debate the motion "Churchill was more a liability than an asset to the free... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared.\\n \\n\\xa0See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices'