Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Unheeded wisdom

"Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation?  Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground?  Why, by intertwining our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European Ambition, Rivalship, Interest, Humor, or Caprice?  'Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world."
- George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796


"Though the object of being a Great Power is to be able to fight a great war, the only way of remaining a Great Power is not to fight one, or to fight it on a limited scale.  This was the secret of Great Britain's greatness so long as she stuck to naval warfare and did not try to become a military power on the continental pattern."     -  A.J.P. Taylor, historian, The Origins of the Second World War, 1961


News item: Cost of war in Afghanistan: 2,000 dead
News item: Iraq, Afghanistan war wounded pass 50,000
News item: US spends more 'rebuilding' Iraq, Afghanistan than post-WWII Germany
News item: Facing Taliban threats, Afghan interpreters wait for US visas
News item: 'Geriatric' US Arsenal Needs Expensive Facelift

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