Some of you may remember the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Nikita Khrushchev decided the Soviet Union was going to establish a nuclear missile base in Cuba. But President John F. Kennedy said we weren’t going to have enemy missiles 90 miles from home. He told the Russians to dismantle the bases. Furthermore, he told them stop sending missiles. He formed a naval blockade around Cuba, and threatened the use of military force. The Russians set sail, anyway. As a result, America held its breath for 13 long days. We were on the brink of nuclear war. Khrushchev and Kennedy were eyeball to eyeball. Finally, the Russian ships turned around and headed home. The recent conflict between Trump and Iran reminds us of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Did someone just blink?

In the Cuban Missile Crisis , America was on the brink of nuclear war

Kennedy and Khrushchev were said to be eyeball to eyeball during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

The election of President John Kennedy caused as much controversy as the election of Donald Trump. The Republicans claimed the Democrats stole the election in Chicago.

The Republicans hated Kennedy just as the Democrats hate Trump. But Kennedy had an advantage. The media adored him, That changed in 1961, after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. 111 Americans were killed, and 1100 taken prisoner. Now, public opinion turned. Many Americans thought Kennedy was “dangerously incompetent,” as Joe Biden might say.

But Kennedy turned defeat into glory after the Cuban Missile crisis ended. At last, he was seen as a strong leader. By the same token, many Americans now believe Trump is a hero after eliminating Iran’s terrorist General Soleimani.

In ordering the killing of Soleimani in Iraq, President Trump took a bold risk. But, no Americans died in Iran’s subsequent missile attack on a US base in Iraq. Will Trump go down in history as a strong leader? Did someone just blink? Or was the confrontation with Iran a fiasco? Only time will tell.

In my home town, I’m acquainted with a diverse group of people. Because of our respective careers , my husband and I know folks from every race, religion, and socio-economic background. If I were to sit down with some of them and ask, “what is our foreign policy?” I don’t think anyone would give me the same answer.

Some professors, politicians, and military could probably voice a well informed opinion. But even in this college town, those people are few and far between.

When FDR signed a declarration of war against Japan, everyone understood USA foreign policy — Everyone in the USA understood our foreign policy when FDR declared war against Japan in 1941..

When I was a child, the USA foreign policy was pretty clear. We were fighting Germany and Japan. The Germans hated the Jews, and the Japanese hated us. If we didn’t enter the war, they would take over our country , kill our priests, and make us do horrible things to our fellow human beings.

A few years after WWII ended in 1945, almost every young man I knew was drafted and sent to Korea. Again, we had a pretty clear foreign policy: Fighting communism.

Then we entered the long, agonizing war in Vietnam. Our sons, brothers, husbands and fathers were drafted to continue the fight against Marxist communism. Most of us protested. However, the politicians convinced us that if our guys didn’t fight and die in Southeast Asia, we’d soon be ruled by the communists. We lost that war, but saved our democracy.

The State department says their foreign policy goals are to preserve national security, promote world peace, promote democratic values, work with our allies to solve international problems. and further cooperative foreign trade,

But how is the average American supposed to figure out what the United States is up to all over the world? The cold war is supposedly over, but we’re impeaching a president because he held up aid to a corrupt Ukraine in their fight against Russia. Does that make sense? If that’s what we’re doing, it looks like the cold war is really a hot war.

Supposedly, we’re not at war with anyone in the Middle East. But if you were alive on 9/11, it felt pretty much like Pearl Harbor to those of us who were around both times. We actually were at war after 9/11, but it was never declared.

If you were alive during the Pearl Harbor attack, 9/11 seemed like we were at war again — No one questioned our foreign policy when FDR declared war against Japan

We’ve been sending our troops all over the Middle East for years, even though we don’t need their oil any more We’ve got all the oil we need right here in the good old USA . Also, we have wind farms and other forms of cleaner energy. But the politicians give us the same old excuse they did about communism. They tell us we’re fighting terrorism there so we don’t have to fight it here.

Why are we trying to maintain toxic relationships with countries who hate us? Any therapist would tell us that’s crazy. Our foreign policy is incoherent to the average person who goes to work every day, worries about paying their mortgage, and educating their children.

People cared more about our foreign policy when men were being drafted against their will. Now that the US military is an all volunteer service, no one feels as strongly as they once did. And more importantly, our foreign policy doesn’t influence their vote nearly as much as the cost of health care, prescription drugs, and the unemployment rate.

What is our foreign policy? Does anyone really know?

Tag: war and conflict

DID SOMEONE JUST BLINK?

But Kennedy turned defeat into glory after the Cuban Missile crisis ended. At last, he was seen as a strong leader. By the same token, many Americans now believe Trump is a hero after eliminating Iran’s terrorist General Soleimani.

WHAT IS OUR FOREIGN POLICY?

The State department says their foreign policy goals are to preserve national security, promote world peace, promote democratic values, work with our allies to solve international problems. and further cooperative foreign trade,

Supposedly, we’re not at war with anyone in the Middle East. But if you were alive on 9/11, it felt pretty much like Pearl Harbor to those of us who were around both times. We actually were at war after 9/11, but it was never declared.