Tracy;

I used the term of the position of the United States as “Peace through War”, while I was in the Air Force Security Service! We took a “bury your head in the sand” approach through the 1930’s. The French and English did much worse as they did not honor their Treaties and allowed the invasion of Poland without support to the Poles. The world pays for inactivity.

If we are to enjoy any of the freedoms which so many Americans take for granted we as a nation have to take a large part in the worlds activities. If we did nothing we would be criticized. You cannot win but you do have to play the game.

Perhaps I will add “Controlled Chaos” to my list of terms. We do not run the world but we do have some degree of influence. There are those that are jealous of our position and power. After all are we not the colonies?

Some people cherish life and others use it for a means to an end. I am thinking of 5 year old Vietnamese children carrying grenades and satchel charges to kill themselves and Americans. Today it is Arab kids – older than 5 but still youngsters, who are killing themselves and others in the quest for freedom or recognition.

There is no answer to any question that will satisfy everyone. Regardless of what you do or do not do there is risk involved. If you attempt to support a people that do not want your support then you have a serious problem.

I somehow think Afghanistan is a bit like North and South Vietnam. We are attempting to impose our value system on a people that do not want us there. They are too accustomed to those social and political values that existed before we arrived.

As for Israel and the Arabs, I think the worst is yet to come.

Sometimes plans made today provide serious problems for the future. How many people know about the creation of North and South Vietnam, and North and South Korea? What seemed a good idea at the time caused some serious ramifications later.


Tom