A final note (from me) on this thread. After thinking on it for a while I believe that without assigning blame or arguing who was worse than whom, there are lessons to be learned in how we manipulated other countries in the past. It's my sincere hope that we take them to heart in any future dealings. I would hope that we stay as true to our ideals (and we do have dangerous ideals) as is practicable - to the point of straining, if not breaking, the bounds of pragmatism.
And by the way, I share Guatam's sentiments on the treatment of Viet Nam Vets. They were treated shamefully, and there was no excuse for it. I was personally fascinated by the stories of those returning servicemen that I talked to, and was actually talked into joining the service by a Marine vet (he suggested I enlist, but not in the Marines.) The war was pretty much over btw, but if I'd joined a month earlier I'd have worn a Viet Nam service medal. -- Doug email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.zo.com/~brighto "Now people stand themselves next to the righteous And they believe the things they say are true They speak in terms of what divides us To justify the violence they do" Jackson Browne, It Is One
