jcky et al.,
In today's WSJ letters section...
interactive.wsj.com
January 7, 2002
In his Dec. 24 page-one feature "In War's Early Phase, News Media Showed a Tendency to Misfire"
Matthew Rose does an excellent job of pointing out that far too many angst-obsessed political pundits are
grossly overpaid, overdue for retirement and best advised to keep their hand-wringing to themselves.
What is amazing to me is they can collectively miss so much of what is
truly significant about this war: for example:The U.S. has built the
world's most effective and powerful armed forces. And yet what has the
U.S. done with its awesome power? Unlike previous military powers
(the Mongols, Persians, Romans, Huns, Nazis or Soviets, etc.), it has not
used its power to exact tribute, colonial concessions or the unswerving
fealty of nations that have fallen under its military umbrella.
Neither has this power been unleashed to project tribal identities,
religious doctrines or political ideologies upon unwilling peoples. Quite the
opposite. In Afghanistan as in many other countries, U.S. citizens
continue to invest huge sums of "reverse tribute" to help peoples and
nations achieve both self-determination and functioning, competitive
economies to compete with our own.
The Afghan conflict marks not just a triumph of military prowess, but the
triumph of an ethic the likes of which history has never recorded.
Dan Best
Lincolnshire, Ill. |
