Subject : DAYS OF OUR LIVES #53
Date : Tue, 12 Feb 2002 17:33:41 -0600
MAIL-call - PRESERVING FORGOTTEN MEMORIES
Newly found VET'S
NONE
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E-mail changes
Bill Hartranft ---- wdhartranft1@comcast.net
Vic Pryor -------- vic.pryor@cox.net
Ted Rosick ------ trosick@yahoo.com .
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Your Opinion Counts
1. Keep the bio's and stories coming - this is a terrific exchange and I owe lots of people my thanks for their hard work. I won't know about coming to the reunion until we get closer to September.- Vic Pryor, Mesa, AZ, SP4, 05K, Det 27, AU60-JN62
2. Send me your opinions and then read them here. Your responses will help me formulate my opinion and make this newsletter a splash rather than a drip!
3. I would like to thank everyone who participated in the survey. I'm slowly trying to implement some of the suggestions into the newsletters
ATTACHMENTS
1. The WAITE 1-4 attachments are recent foto's of Daryl Waite
2. The Turkey-Unit Day foto was sent to me by Gary Richard. It was taken at Manzeralli Station, Sep 13,1967. His wife Carolyn is in left foreground beside Bobbie Ware and Daughter. Bob Ware and son standing in foreground. He didn't know anybody else....
3. The Turkey-Sheep for Ramadan foto was taken across from the NCO Club in Ankara by Gary Richard.
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Did y'all know that:
1. Roger Glubka is checking in Korea about having some ASA patches made and sent to me. He also is checking on the three LOGO patches that I recently mentioned. He quoted several prices and said that he can do better out in the ville.
2. Roger Glubka still hasn't heard from Ray Bernstein regarding a
Korean wallet.
3. Apparently no one is interested in the LOGO patches. No responses yet and Roger Glubka would like to know how many to order. So get your orders in to me ASAP.
4. Daryl Waite of Carthage, IL, former SP4 at Det 66 sent me a VHS tape that was made from 8mm movies of his TOUR OF DUTY in Ankara and Manzarali. Daryl did a grand job of narrating and the first part held our undivided attention. I made the four Waite attachments from the TV screen. I will bring the tape to the reunion and those interest-ed can view it in the hospitality room at the Holiday Inn.
5. 1LT Jerry R. Hurst was the Advisor to the Manzarali Mauler in 1965.
6. I received a map mailer today from Drew Robinson that contained four pages (17X11) of the August 1965 edition of the Manzarali Mauler.
7. I was not able to ID anyone in the 1967 foto's that Gary Richard has sent. Patty and I both ID'd Bobbie Ware as Val Antonello. Woe is us...., maybe we can use our eyesight as the scapegoat.
8. 9/11 was a day that changed our lives forever and interferred with our first reunion.
9. That we're unique and one of a kind
10. Some people don't seem too worse for wear.
11. Your life can be what you want it to be
12. Myth is a catchall word for why we shouldn't believe in anything.
13. Take the days just one at a time that friendship is a wise investment
14. Most individuals rebel at being labeled, especially if the label is uncomplimentary
15. Our identities, who and what we are or think we are, how others see and define us, are greatly affected by language
16. In a recent interview, General Norman Schwartzkopf was asked if he didn't think there was room for forgiveness toward the people who have harbored and abetted the terrorists who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks on America. His answer was classic Schwartzkopf. He said, "I believe that forgiving them is God's function. Our job is simply to arrange the meeting." - contributor: wdh
17. Walking, seeing, hearing and comprehending
are things that we take, too often, for granted.
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From: Bill Binney
Subject: Warning: IRS Audit Scam
The IRS Criminal Investigations Division recently sent out an alert to law enforcement agencies regarding this scam. PLEASE READ and FORWARD to others, so they might not be a victim of what could seriously damage you financially. Some taxpayers have received e-mails from a non-IRS source indicating that the taxpayer is under audit and needs to complete a questionnaire within 48 hours to avoid the assessment of penalties and interest. The e-mail refers to an "e-audit" and references IRS form 1040. The taxpayer is asked for social security numbers, bank account numbers and other confidential information. The IRS does not conduct e-audits, nor does it notify taxpayers of a pending audit via e-mail. The e-mail is not from the IRS. Any e-mail received of this nature should be saved so that a computer forensics investigation can be conducted to determine the originator. Law enforcement personnel should remain cognizant of this latest identity theft ploy. More info at: webmaster@fleoa.org - Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association
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From: Julian Hargus
Subject: Turkish gestures
Hi Elder. The only gesture that I remember was the left hand on the top of the back of the right hand and snapping it down on your forearm meaning f*** you. There was also a "tooth sucking" click that was a profane "no" if I recall it right. Hopefully, some of the guys have better memories than I have. THANKS FOR THESE MESSAGES. zip
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From: Bill Hartranft
Subject: Re: DAYS OF OUR LIVES #52
Another great posting.........
You're the Man!!!!!!!1
Don't know when you'll get this...Comcast internet is showing me how not to run a business.
wdh
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From: nearpass nearpass@accessgate.net
Subject: Hashish at Det 27
Regarding the comment [by Tom Bodine], "I mean a lot of our MP's got busted for Hashish". Although several individuals were questioned, [only] TWO MP's [that Rob Nearpass was aware of] were transferred from Det 27 and of the two, one was separated from the service and the other remained in the Army. As I recall this investigation was an Air Force Operation as a result of incident(s) at a disco in Ankara. [This is in response to a remembrance by Tom Bodine who mentioned the hashish problem amid the MP's in describing a questionable RU lingi that he called Slim- - -gH]
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From: Vollmering, Lance MTCH VollmeringL@MeritMtg.com
Subject: REFER YOUR MAIL DTD 2/10/02, FM BILL BINNEY(WHATEVER WORKS)
BILL'S STORY REMINDED ME OF THIS ONE.
INDIVIDUAL WALKED INTO CHASE MANHATTAN NEW YORK BANK WANTING TO BORROW
$5000. AS COLLATERAL, HE PUT UP A NEW ROLLS ROYCE, WORTH $150,000. THE BANKER FELT IT TO BE A DONE DEAL AND LEND THE GENTLEMAN THE $5000, AND HE WENT ON HIS WAY. DURING THE TWO WEEKS WHILE THE GENTLEMAN WAS GONE, THE BANKER DECIDED TO RUN A CREDIT INVESTIGATION AND FOUND THE CREDIT TO BE PERFECT WHICH BROUGHT THE FIRST QUESTION TO HIS MIND ONCE THE GENTLEMAN RETURNED.
AFTER TWO WEEKS, THE GENTLEMAN WALKED INTO THE BANK WITH THE $5000, PLUS THE $36, FOR THE INTEREST. THE BANKER HAD TO ASK HIS QUESTION. WHY DID YOU PUT UP THE ROLLS FOR JUST $5000 LOAN? THE GENTLEMAN RESPONDED, STATING SIMPLY, WHERE ELSE CAN YOU PARK A VEHICLE IN NEW YORK AND PAY ONLY $36, FOR KEEPING A CAR TWO WEEKS WITHOUT IT GETTING STOLEN?
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From: Don Creig Myers creigmy@swbell.net
Subject: Billy Pennington
Is the Bill Pennington refered to by James Findley from Okla? He would have been about 6'2" or 3" and about 200-225lbs. If so I met him at Det 4-4 and he was one of the guys that taught me 10 point pitch one weekend. I later met up with him back in Okla working on a farm near Ponca City but have lost contact since..the name rang a bell..creig
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FM: Tony and Val Antonello
Subject: For all you Vets
Four retired veterans are walking down the street.
When they see a sign that says "Veterans Bar," they go in.
The bartender asks what they'll have and they all ask for a martini.
He delivers the drinks and says, "That'll be 40 cents,"
They can't believe their good luck.
They finish the drinks and order another round and the bartender again says, "That'll be 40 cents,"
This whets their curiosity, so they ask the bartender, "How can you afford to serve martinis for a dime apiece?"
The bartender replies, "I guess you've seen the decor here. Well, I'm a retired Navy master chiefboatswain's mate and I always wanted to own a bar. Last year I hit the lottery for $45 million and decided to open this place for real veterans. Every drink costs a dime -- wine, liquor, beer all
the same."
They notice four guys at the end of the bar who haven't ordered anything.
They ask, "What's with them?"
The bartender says "Oh, those are retired Air Force Colonels. They're waiting for Happy Hour!"
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From: Tony Antonello
Subject: Do they still make Pabst beer???
A classic...
Why men aren't secretaries --
Husband's note to wife on refrigerator:
Someone from the Guyna Colleges called. They said Pabst beer is normal.
From: Bill Hartranft
Subject: Re: Do they still make Pabst beer???
Isn't Pabst Beer Normal? We call Pabst "PBR" in this neck of the woods. It isn't a bad beer; beats drinking Panther Piss. We call Yeungling Lager just "Lager". Interesting how the Brand name has taken on the name of the process. Be well and have some fun today. wdh
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From: Walters, William
HOW WELL DO YOU REMEMBER? This test is for those over 50.....
1. "Kookie; Kookie. Lend me your ______."
2. The "battle cry" of the hippies in the 60's was "Turn on; tune in;__________."
3. After the Lone Ranger saved the day and rode off into the sunset, the grateful citizens would ask, "Who was that masked man?" Invariably, someone would answer, "I don't know, but he left this behind." What did he leave behind?______.
4. Folk songs were played side by side with rock and roll. One of the most memorable folk songs included these lyrics: "When the rooster crows at the break of dawn, look out your window and I'll be gone. You're the reason I'm traveling on, _____."
5. A group of protesters arrested at the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968 achieved cult status, and were known as the _______.
6. When the Beatles first came to the U.S. in early 1964, we all watched them on the ________show.
7. Some of those who protested the Vietnam war did so by burning their ________.
8. We all learned to read using the same books. We read about the thrilling lives and adventures of Dick and Jane. What was the name of Dick and Jane's dog?______
9. The cute little car with the engine in the back and the trunk (what there was of it) in the front, was called the VW. What other name(s) did it go by? _______& _______
10. A Broadway musical and movie gave us the gang names the ______and the ________.
11. In the seventies, we called the drop-out nonconformists "hippies." But in the early sixties, they were known as _______.
12. William Bendix played Chester A. Riley, who always seemed to get the short end of the stick in the television program, "The Life of Riley." At the end of each show, poor Chester would turn to the camera and exclaim, "What a ________."
13. "Get your kicks, ________."
14. "The story you are about to see is true. The names have been
changed_________."
15. The real James Bond, Sean Connery, mixed his martinis in a special way:_________.
16. "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, __________."
17. That "adult" book by Henry Miller - the one that contained all the "dirty" dialogue - was called _____.
18. Today, the math geniuses in school might walk around with a calculator strapped to their belts. But back in the 60's, members of the math club used a _________.
19. In 1971, singer Don Maclean sang a song about "the day the music died." This was a reference and tribute to ________.
20. A well-known television commercial featured a driver who was miraculously lifted through thin air and into the front seat of a convertible. The matching slogan was "Let Hertz _______.
21. After the twist, the mashed potatoes, and the watusi, we "danced" under a stick that was lowered as low as we could go in a dance called the_______.
22. "N-E-S-T-L-E-S; Nestles makes the very best... __________."
23. In the late 60's, the "full figure" style of Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe gave way to the "trim" look, as first exemplified by British model ________.
24. Sachmo was America's "ambassador of goodwill." Our parents shared this great jazz trumpet player with us. His name was __________.
25. On Jackie Gleason's variety show in the 60's, one of the most popular segments was "Joe, the Bartender." Joe's regular visitor at the bar was that slightly off- center, but lovable character, ________. (The character's name, not the actor's.)
26. We can remember the first satellite placed into orbit. The Russians did it; it was called _____.
27. What takes a licking and keeps on ticking?_____.
28. One of the big fads of the late 50's and 60's was a large plastic ring that we twirled around our waist; it was called the ____.
29. The "Age of Aquarius" was brought into the mainstream in the Broadway musical ________.
30. This is a two-parter: Red Skelton's hobo character (not the hayseed, the hobo) was ______. Red ended his television show by saying, "Good night, and ___________."
THE ANSWERS:
1. "Kookie; Kookie; lend me your comb."
2. The "battle cry" of the hippies in the 60's was "Turn on; tune in; drop out." Many people who proclaimed that 30 years ago today are Wall Street bond traders and corporate lawyers.
3. The Lone Ranger left behind a silver bullet. Several of you said he left behind his mask. Oh, no; even off the screen, Clayton Moore would not be seen as the Lone Ranger without his mask!
4. "When the rooster crows at the break of dawn, look out your window and I'll be gone. You're the reason I'm traveling on; Don't think twice, it's all right."
5. The group of protesters arrested at the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968 was known as the Chicago seven. As Paul Harvey says, "They would like me to mention their names."
6. When the Beatles first came to the U.S. in early 1964, we all watched them on the Ed Sullivan Show.
7. Some who protested the Vietnam war did so by burning their draft cards. If you said "bras," you've got the right spirit, but nobody ever burned a bra while I was watching. The "bra burning" days came as a by-product of women's liberation movement which had nothing directly to do with the Vietnam war.
8. Dick and Jane's dog was Spot. "See Spot run." Whatever happened to them? Rumor has it they have been replaced in some school systems by "Heather Has Two Mommies."
9. It was the VW Beetle, or more affectionately, the Bug.
10. A Broadway musical and movie gave us the gang names the Sharks and the Jets. West Side Story.
11. In the early 60's, the drop-out, non-conformists were known as beatniks. Maynard G. Krebs was the classic beatnik, except that he had no rhythm, man; a beard, but no beat.
12. At the end of "The Life of Riley," Chester would turn to the camera and exclaim, "What a revolting development this is."
13. "Get your kicks, on Route 66."
14. "The story you are about to see is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent."
15. The real James Bond, Sean Connery, mixed his martinis a special way: shaken, not stirred.
16. "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight."
17. That "adult" book by Henry Miller was called Tropic of Cancer. Today, it would get a PG-13 rating.
18. Back in the 60's, members of the math club used a slide rule.
19. "The day the music died" was a reference and tribute to Buddy Holly.
20. The matching slogan was "Let Hertz put you in the driver's seat."
21. After the twist, the mashed potatoes, and the watusi, we "danced" under a stick in a dance called the Limbo.
22. "N-E-S-T-L-E-S; Nestles makes the very best....chooo-c'late." In the television commercial, "chocolate" was sung by a puppet - a dog. (Remember his mouth flopping open and shut?)
23. In the late 60's, the "full figure" style gave way to the "trim" look, as first exemplified by British model Twiggy.
24. Our parents shared this great jazz trumpet player with us. His name was Louis Armstrong.
25. Joe's regular visitor at the bar was Crazy Googenhiem.
26. The Russians put the first satellite into orbit; it was called Sputnik.
27. What takes a licking and keeps on ticking? A Timex watch.
28. The large plastic ring that we twirled around our waist was called the hula-hoop.
29. The "Age of Aquarius" was brought into the mainstream in the Broadway musical "Hair."
30. Red Skelton's hobo character was Freddie the Freeloader. (Clem Kaddiddlehopper was the "hay seed.") Red ended his television show by saying, "Good night, and may God bless."
Keep Laughing!
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Bill Binney
Subject: Tenet Not Admitting Intelligence Failure...
Here is a http://216.33.148.250/cgi-bin/linkrd?_lang=EN&lah=629b77ce23a8f97e4dd838f3cc130841&lat=1013557682&hm___action=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2enewsmax%2ecom article about it.
Gaffney: Tenet Should Admit 9-11 'Failure'
Former senior Reagan administration Defense Department official Frank Gaffney said Saturday night that CIA Director George Tenet was wrong to deny in testimony last week that the 9-11 attacks represented a failure of the U.S. intelligence-gathering community.
"Of course it's a failure," Gaffney told WABC Radio's John Batchelor and Paul Alexander. "How could you describe it as anything other than a failure?"
On Wednesday, Tenet told the Senate Select Intelligence Committee that the terrorist attacks were "not the result of the failure of attention and discipline and focus and consistent effort, and the American people need to understand that. ...
"When people use the word 'failure,'" Tenet continued, "'failure' means no focus, no attention, no discipline, and those were not present in what either we or the FBI did here and around the world."
But Gaffney strongly disagreed, telling the New York-based talk hosts, "Something happened. We didn't know that it was going to happen. It was a bad thing. That, by my lexicon, constitutes a failure."
The former senior Reagan Defense Department official warned that Tenet's comments suggested he doesn't think the CIA needs to improve its procedures.
"It certainly sounds to me as though George Tenet personally - and the intelligence community he's leading corporately - are saying, 'We didn't do anything wrong.' And that's the real rub here."
Gaffney said the CIA director's attitude reflected the intelligence community's reliance on high-tech information-gathering rather than cultivating human assets on the ground, which was, he said, a product of "the Clinton administration's predisposition."
"You had a Clinton administration that didn't want to attack al-Qaeda," Gaffney charged. "Except in maybe a spasmodic wag-the-dog kind of way in, you know, in blowing up some empty camps or an intelligence building in Iraq after hours."
In its lead editorial on Sunday, the New York Post called for Tenet to resign, saying the CIA "failed - disastrously - on his watch, and thousands of Americans perished as a result."
Frank Gaffney currently heads up the Center for Security Policy, a Washington-based think tank.
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From: Bill Hartranft
Subject: Advice from kids
When your dad is mad and asks you, "Do I look stupid?' Don't answer." -Hannah, age 9
"Never tell your Mom her diet's not working." -Michael, age 14
"Stay away from prunes." -Randy, age 9
"Never trust a dog to watch your food." -Patrick, age 10
"Don't pull Dad's finger when he tells you to." -Emily, age 10
"When your Mom is mad at your dad, don't let her brush your hair." -Taylia, age 11
"Never let your three-year old brother in the same room as your school assignment."
-Traci, age 14
"A puppy always has bad breath--even after eating a Tic-Tac." - Andrew, age 9
"Never hold a dustbuster and a cat at the same time." - Kyoyo, age 11
"You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk." -Amir, age 9
"Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts! ." -Kellie, age 11
"If you want a kitten, start out by asking for a horse." -Naomi, age 15
"Felt-tip markers are not good to use as lipstick." -Lauren, age 9
"Don't pick on your sister when she's holding a baseball bat." -Joel, age 10
"When you get a bad grade in school, show it to your Mom when she's on the phone."
-Alyesha, age 13
"Never try to baptize a cat." -Eileen, age 8
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From: Walters, William
Subject: Intel Article
Thought you guys would enjoy this one..... According to one source it's 'kill Americans and you're dead meat'. See the article below.
Mathew Parris, in the London Times, writes:
We seek to project the message that there are rules to which all nations are subject. America has a simpler message: kill Americans, and you're dead meat.
By George, I think he's got it!
Her citizens do not see her as one country among many but as nonpareil, the biggest, the best, the one-and-only: final judge of her own interests and a pretty fair judge of what's good for the rest of us too.
None of this is inconsistent with a strong sense of justice: a sense of justice characterises America at home and abroad, but it will be their justice and they will be the arbiters. Nor is it inconsistent with a wish to do good abroad: no people have shown such a consistently generous ambition to make our world a better place.
But their help will be given ex gratia and its terms dictated by them. America will save the planet if America must, and it will pay the piper: but it will then call the tune. A negotiated process of cooperation is not what America has in mind.
Yes, that's about right. But let's look at why that might be, shall we? Ninety years ago, the United States was pretty much isolationist. Wilson was reelected in 1916 on the slogan, "He kept us out of the war." Remember that?
But the Europeans got themselves bogged down in stalemate, and slaughtered millions of their men to no avail. It got so bad that the French Army mutinied and refused to make any more attacks, because the individual soldiers were tired of getting butchered. The only answer for France and
England seemed to be to get the US into the war, adding its contribution of treasure and blood. And that was done, and Germany and Austria were defeated, and American shook everyone's hand and came home.
"And we won't come home 'til it's over, over there!" That was one of the songs that our soldiers sang as they went to war. And they thought it was over, and came home, and within 20 years those blasted "old" countries in Europe were tearing each other to shreds again. And again we had to go "over there" and help straighten the mess out. And again it cost us blood and money, only a hell of a lot more of it the second time. A half million American men died in the war, and fewer than fifty of them were killed by enemy action within the 48 states of the Union. The only direct military attacks on the United States were a handful of instances where Japanese submarines shelled the coasts of Oregon and California. (Note that Hawaii and Alaska were not yet states. It's also noteworthy that it was a Japanese attack which brought the US into the war, but the US applied 70% of its might to the European theater.)
And after the war it was clear that the European nations couldn't take care of themselves. (Fool me twice.) Old they might be; some might even say senile. Whatever it was, left to themselves they'd start fighting yet again if we went home. So the United States occupied Western Europe.
(And the Europeans welcomed the occupation, because they also knew that they couldn't keep themselves from fighting again. The running joke then was that the purpose of NATO was to keep the Americans in, the Russians out and the Germans down.)
Who is most responsible for the EC? Ready for an arrogant self-centered American answer? We are. The United States occupied Western Europe and imposed the longest interval of peace there in the last 600 years, and let the nations there know that the US wouldn't tolerate any more fighting between them. For fifty years, Germany and the UK and France and Italy have been allies with each other, because the US said so. For most of that interval the US had more than a million men in Western Europe, with the stated purpose of keeping the USSR out, and the unspoken purpose of keeping the Western Europeans from fighting each other. Had any of those nations gotten feisty with each other (as they had been doing for the last thousand years), they were going to have to answer to us.
So they got their peace, imposed on them by the US. (Maybe that explains their fascination with peacekeepers, and our disillusionment with them.) And now they're used to living together; and for the first time since Charlemagne they're uniting. It remains to be seen whether it will work.
And the US came out of that with a deep distrust of European wisdom and European advice. No matter how much older and wiser they claimed to be, they hadn't managed to do what we had ourselves: unite a huge area under a single government and live without war. We fought our Civil War, but that was 140 years ago and we've mastered living together ever since. And it took our meddling and our military occupation to make them live together without war.
We're not interested in listening to European advice because the Europeans have proved that their advice is worthless. We had to clean up their act, and indeed we are still occupying Europe and still guaranteeing the peace there. We are still "over there" because it isn't "over, over there" even now. (The USSR no longer exists and there is no longer a threat of invasion; we're still there to keep the Western European nations from fighting each other.)
We gave Europe one chance, after WWI, to dictate their own terms and the result was another bloody war. So the second time, we did call the tune -- and the result was a hell of a lot better. If we think that we are, as he puts it, "a pretty fair judge of what's good for the rest of [the world], too" then it's because we've proved it. We have been far from perfect, but we did a hell of a lot better job than the Europeans themselves did.
But that's because we are willing to try the unconventional. For example: after WWI, France insist-ed that Germany, with its ruined economy, pay drastic reparations to France. The result was hyper inflation, collapse of the Weimar Republic, and the rise of the Nazi Party.
If there is a more misbegotten "peace" treaty in history than the Treaty of Versailles, I sure don't know what it is. It's difficult to imagine how it could possibly have been worse than it was.
So after WWII, the United States tried a different approach: the Marshall Plan, and NATO. Instead of the destroyed losers paying the winners, the big winner with its intact economy gave aid to everyone who wanted it, allies and former enemies alike, to help them rebuild. Instead of the victors occupying the losers, the United States occupied everyone (except the USSR), enemies and allies alike.
Worked, too.
And even in the recent past the Europeans have proved that their counsel sucks. That's what we learned in Yugoslavia, something I've discussed here at great length. Years of dithering where the US lobbied for military action and the Europeans counseled diplomacy and sanctions, and what it got us was years of slaughter and civil war there. Finally the US issued an ultimatum; and after 6 weeks of bombing, the war there ended. Milosevic was deposed, and the Serbs went back to democracy and ceased to be imperialistic. And it's been reasonably peaceful there ever since.
But having forced the Europeans to accept an attack (which they graciously let us do most of) they insisted on being involved in controlling it and because of that it damned near failed. Our military learned a lesson: coalition command doesn't work. There needs to be a single commander in a war so that there is a single strategic goal.
So in 2001 we, ourselves, got attacked -- and the Europeans were generous with their advice and willingness to help decide what American military forces should do. Is it any wonder we're not interested? The Europeans can't even clean up their own back yard without our help; why should we listen to what they have to say about anything else?
The Twentieth Century is a tapestry of European failure and American success. If there's any arrogance here, it's the one held in the capitols of Europe where they still think of the US as some sort of rambunctious teenager who is strong but stupid and needs to be led by older and wiser heads. Experience proves otherwise. We've made our mistakes, but we haven't set off two world wars. That honor goes to our good friends in the UK, Germany and France, who don't seem to understand why the US isn't eager to follow their advice.
This is not the greatest evil the world has ever seen, nor the cleverest, nor the first - and nor, certainly, will it be the last.
But America is moving into a phase of believing so, and America is apt to throw her weight around.
No, I don't think that people here think that this is the greatest evil the world has ever seen. Certainly none of us who grew up during the Cold War would confuse the threat we now face with the annihilation that could have been unleashed against us with half an hour's notice during those 40 years. Bad as these terrorists are, they do not have the ability to turn the United States into a parking lot.
But we're also not interested in shrugging our shoulders after three thousand good people were killed here, and going about our business. We didn't start this particular war, but we're going to finish it. And anyone who slaughters Americans is going to be dead meat. (I think that's a pretty good message to send to the world. If that is all they learn from this, I'll be happy.)
And quite frankly, I can't think of any reason why we need either permission or advice to take care of it.
For more than half of the last century, the United States has had to intervene in Europe to keep the peace, or to settle wars. But it's noteworthy that the Europeans have never had to send military forces to the United States to help us deal with anything, during the entire history of the Union. Is it arrogance for the US to keep its own counsel, or a rational appraisal of the situation? Since the Europeans have proved beyond doubt that they are incapable of keeping their own houses clean, why should we listen to their advice on how to clean ours?