• 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.
The notion of “defending the frontier” is one that has permeated the American psyche since its inception. Manifest destiny and the resulting policy decisions led to a constant push west on the North American continent, and eventually spread to a limited imperial push during the Spanish-American war. The US Military in general and the Army in particular has been the main political arm of implementing these policies from the Indian Wars to the Philippine campaign. Less and less these campaigns became about existential threats from without, like the revolution or the War of 1812, but about the imposition of the American will on the world, through military and economic might. The author draws on the parallels with the Roman Empire and the legions that served it often throughout the narrative. One can clearly see the similarities between the Legionaries posted along Hadrian’s Wall with the Soldiers currently posted across the DMZ, far from home, only immediately protecting citizens of their country in that the citizens pay taxes in the form of their imports and exports. The importance of holding that line can’t be underestimated, because demonstrating the political and military will to fight to your enemy early and often far beyond the harm of the citizen is crucial to maintaining the status quo or continuing the expansion of one’s will.