No American arrived at the White House with a degree of ignorance of US history comparable to that of . When he said attacks on Iran would continue until his government offered an “unconditional surrender,” he heard the rooster crow but didn’t know where.
There is no record of this type of surrender without territorial occupation. Trump liked the expression and appropriated it. Unconditional surrenders occurred in 1945 with Germany and Japan, which were not even unconditional, as Emperor Hirohito remained on the throne.
The expression was popularized by General Ulysses S. Grant, commander of Northern troops during the Civil War. In 1862, when attacking Fort Donelson, he demanded an “unconditional and immediate surrender.” This was the North’s first major victory and took 12,000 prisoners. Grant, a guy who had failed at everything in life, came to be known as Unconditional Surrender Grant.
He ended up in the White House and led a disastrous government.
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