Nation-building and pretense of knowledge about this world - Orange County Register

Who can argue with centuries of experience? As T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia) told the Bedouins, "no one can give you freedom. You must take it." Well a few Afghanis attempted to take it, but not enough. Had we left a token force in place, as we did in Europe following WWII and Korea following the War there, we could have sheltered those who embraced civilization. But, we ignored the lesson of Vietnam and didn't and the Afghanis suffered the same fate as the South Vietnamese. That being said, I must correct the application of John Quincy Adams' warning. We didn't seek out the monsters. They sought out US. America is the only nation capable of maintaining peace in the world and much of the world is more than happy to submit to the Pax Americana because we wield our mighty force with discretion. As we absent ourselves from the world stage and abandon the role of peace keeper, make no mistake, another will pick up the gauntlet. China is the best candidate and we must now ask ourselves, will they exercise the same discretion as US?