I love these pronouncements that we should do something about some area of the world. Hasn't history proven that we suck at this? Almost every time we've stuck our noses into some area to promote democracy, the area's ended up with huge stacks of piled up corpses and some tinhorn violent dictator at the helm.

What would you have had us do in Georgia? Should they become part of NATO so that the next time there's a border dispute with Russia, we cook off the nukes? How many of your youthful relative's lives are you willing to sacrifice to maintain the national integrity of Taiwan or Bellarus? When does this madness stop? It almost feels like the Hatfields and McCoys where neither side will put down their arms and they just keep going through generations until there's nobody left. Gorbachev gave us an unbelievable opening when he began his reconciliation with the West and over the past decade or so we've squandered much of the good will that was created by trying to turn the rest of the world into NATO.

Look, I'm all for national defense. Our borders must not be breached by advancing armies. I'll be there with a sword fending them off myself to defend my family and home. I have the feeling nobody's going to test my resolve there.

All of our efforts right now should shift dramatically towards finding ways to make our country as self-reliant and innovative as possible and rebuilding the good will that has always made us a shining beacon of hope on this globe. Anything else is just macho posturing.

Art