If you ask people what the U.N. stands for, most would probably answer “peace,” or at least the world’s best hope of peace. For millions around the world, a U.N.-fostered peace is more than a hope; it is an inevitable necessity. They put their full passion into ending war – or as a recent Walter Cronkite PBS series framed it – into “Avoiding Armageddon.” The horror of war is what galvanizes them. Across America, Cronkite’s anti-war message is so commonly accepted that public schools will no doubt show “Avoiding Armageddon” to their students, promoting the peace movement by teaching the reality of war, made frighteningly vivid by the series. Now how could anyone reasonably question Walter Cronkite’s hope of global peace? After all, even Winston Churchill said it’s better to jaw, jaw, jaw than war, war, war. So let’s get the world around a table, these people say, and talk, talk, talk about problems until “peace” is the only solution. Sounds good, but the United Nations is not about “talk” as its world court indicates. … Continue Reading

No one can doubt the fierce commitment of radical Islamists who are willing to kill themselves in waging this war of terror on America. But as the war heats up, both in the Middle East and here at home where terror attacks are expected, the world will be watching to see if average American citizens can demonstrate a similar will to fight. Experts know the odds are against us. Ironically, despite our “superpower” status, military authorities worldwide consider us an underdog in this battle of wills, something made clear by former military history professor Lt. Col. Anthony Kern (USAF, Ret.) in his famous “Open Letter to Americans,” written right after the Sept. 11 attack and later quoted by the Defense Department. In it, Kern warns Americans that the post 9-11 “flag waving and patriotism” could end fairly quickly in the face of continued terrorism. “It is generally acknowledged that America lacks the stomach for a long fight,” says Kern. “We need only look as far back as Vietnam, when North Vietnamese Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap … Continue Reading