It seems we all agree again. The past is gone with its nastiness and its excuses. I can boast German, Russian, and French ancestors and I assure you their societies were quite nasty indeed, and their newspapers full of primitive propaganda. Since I'm not a historian, I cannot discuss about fleets, but if a government told me "They are barbarians because they want to be as powerful as we and have an equal share in colonial exploitation", I may not be motivated to give my life in combat.

It's our task not to repeat yesterday's propaganda, even if it did serve an acceptable purpose. More importantly, don't swallow today's, even if you're convinced that, say, the Taliban must be fought. (I remember that in the '80s the Taliban/Mujahideen were praised and supported by western politicians as a bulwark against Soviet imperialism.)