Alpha: Respond to the author’s commentary on “defending the frontier,” if you still think it is a valid perspective, and relate that to the nation’s last two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“They would not, except as a last extremity, accept general war. They would fight; they would reluctantly spill the blood of their nation’s young men, but if possible, only in limited fashion, and only to prove a point to the enemy” -Fehrenbach

In my opinion, Fehrenbach commentary on “defending the frontier” is well founded. When North Korea attacked no one expected the United States going to great lengths to rescue the peninsula from the communist forces. Again when China’s army crossed the Yalu River and attacked American Soldiers the communist forces expected to destroy the opposition. The United States had to intervene in Korea. Not because they wanted to take over the peninsula or invade China but because it was a necessary response to communism. Could you imagine if the United States had left Korea? What precedent would that have set for the rest of the world? It is our job to defend freedom and democracy not only because is it the right thing to do but because we are the only ones capable of doing it. The United States is the world’s most powerful country and it is our job to ensure that our citizens are kept safe and remain free. We take the fight to the enemy in order to prevent the fighting from happening on our soil.

We can see history repeat itself with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. We invaded those countries not because the United States loves nation building but because we were attacked. The dismantling of Saddam Hussein’s government and the destruction of Al-Qaeda and later ISIL are necessary and just causes. We cannot allow evil organizations like those to exist in our world. Unfortunately this brings up the issue of how to win in those conflicts. There is a military way of winning and there is also a political way of winning. It is the job of the politicians to come up with the policy and the job of Soldiers to execute the will of the United States. Unfortunately for General MacArthur he could not see that the answer in Korea had to be political victory. He was willing to risk general war with China by blockading their ports and bombing Manchurian airstrips. However, President Truman was not prepared to bring the world back into war. He knew that we must fight back and oppose communism but we could not use the atom bomb, fight China or the Soviet Union. However, we must remember that eventually there might come a time that we must fight in order to preserve our way of life and when that time comes it is our job to be willing and able to defend freedom and democracy.

“The martyrs of history were not fools, and our honored dead who gave their lives to stop the advance of the Nazis didn’t die in vain. Where, then, is the road to peace? Well, it’s a simple answer after all. You and I have the courage to say to our enemies, “There is a price we will not pay.” There is a point beyond which they must not advance.” -Ronald Reagan