We Have Had Raucous Moments

It's Very Difficult, Historically, To Define What An Elite Is. But Whatever It Is, People Are Very Angry At That Idea, I Think, Not So Much Because Of Wealth Or Privilege As Much As Attitude That The Populous Masses, If I Could Use That Overused Term, Feel That A Particular Government Or Cultural Group Is Not Subject To The Ramifications Of Their Own Ideology.

Western Societies From Ancient Athens To Imperial Rome To The French Republic Rarely Collapsed Because Of A Shortage Of Resources Or Because Foreign Enemies Proved Too Numerous Or Formidable In Arms - Even When Those Enemies Were Grim Macedonians Or Germans. Rather, In Times Of Peace And Prosperity There Arose An Unreal View Of The World Beyond Their Borders, One That Was The Product Of Insularity Brought About By Success, And An Intellectual Arrogance That For Some Can Be The Unfortunate Byproduct Of An Enlightened Society.

The United States Military Is Now Evolving Geometrically As It Gains Experience From Near-constant Fighting And Grafts New Technology Daily. Indeed, It Seems To Be Doubling, Tripling, And Even Quadrupling Its Lethality Every Few Years. And The Result Is That We Are Outdistancing Not Merely The Capabilities Of Our Enemies But Our Allies As Well - Many Of Whom Who Have Not Fought In Decades - At Such A Dizzying Pace That Our Sheer Destructive Power Makes It Hard To Work With Others In Joint Operations.

Apologizing For Our Past Sins May Reveal Character And For A Time Lessen Anti-americanism Abroad, But If It Is Done Without Acknowledging That The Sins Of America Are The Sins Of Mankind, And That Our Remedies Are So Often Exceptional, Then It Only Earns Transitory Applause—and A More Lasting Contempt That We Ourselves Do Not Believe In The Values We Profess.

I Wish I Could Attribute The Absence Of Any Conventional Arab Offensive In The Last 20 Years To A Change Of Political Climate Or A Willingness To Abide By Past Accords. But Unfortunately It Is More Likely That The Egyptians Or Syrians Concluded That The Next Time Their Tanks Headed To Tel Aviv, There Was Nothing Stopping The Counterassaults From Ending Up In Downtown Cairo Or Damascus.