Letters to the editor Sept. 12
The ultimate sacrifice
Why does our country have their military stationed all over the world? Why is a big proportion of our gross national product devoted to arms? Are we trying to take over the world as some claim? Let’s examine a few things for the answer.
JFK’S Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, was in France in the early 1960s when Charles de Gaulle decided to pull out of NATO. De Gaulle said he wanted all U.S. military out of France as soon as possible. Rusk responded, “Does that include those who are buried here?”
De Gaulle did not respond.
When in England, at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of “empire building” by President George Bush.
He answered by saying, “Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.”
How soon do they forget! Most people alive today have no memory of past conflicts because they weren’t alive when they occurred. Many were not alive on 9-11 when our country paid a terrible price for our efforts to stop terrorism.
Yes! I am tired of losing our best people to lunatic wannabe world conquerors. But without us and our allies to curb those interested in world domination and religious extremism what are the alternatives? Another World War? No thank you! If there had been a multi-national police force in the past maybe we could have avoided world wars. For now, it’s us.
On this 9/11/2019 how about we celebrate those who gave their all and remember why they considered that sacrifice worthwhile.
—Michael Thoennes, Kalispell
Foreign policy
Ever since the end of World War II, the United States has been involved in overseas operations in many countries. For the most part our mission after World War II was to help rebuild a destroyed Europe and the Far East.
For decades we carried out this assignment without any hesitation, but the world has turned many times since 1945 and the standard policies of that era no longer apply. For decades, the countries which we helped to rebuild took advantage of our generosity and used their modern up-to-date factories to out-produce and out-manufacture products for the American consumer. As a result of these actions our economy suffered while other nations prospered, because of a shift in manufacturing overseas.
Many business companies and politicians got extremely wealthy over this arrangement and were content to let the United States go deeper and deeper into debt to support entitlement programs which became a mainstay of a large portion of our population. The same can be said about the “military industrial complex” and all the newly designed weapons being sold to friend and foe alike.
Today, we have a president who is committed to a new direction in foreign policy and we have seen it with regards to NATO and those countries on the Pacific Rim. As a result of this change in direction, many countries, corporations and politicians have become very upset with the president, for a change in the status quo means less money in their pockets.
We cannot be all things to all nations, and President Trump has made that quite clear, that defense contracts and trade agreements must be equal for all parties concerned. This president has made it abundantly clear that his main concern is the American people and that the shedding of blood and treasure for a 7th Century backward country is no longer an economic priority or a military priority.
—Jim Garvey, Kalispell
Guns are not the problem
Hunting and shooting is a family tradition for us. First our children and now our grandchildren learn how to handle a firearm, they learn maintenance and proper safety. They respect firearms. They have the right to carry on this tradition; a right given to them in the Constitution.
Taking away gun rights is not the answer. Guns are not the problem, people are the problem. Evil and sometimes mentally unstable people.
A gun in itself is an inanimate object that is controlled by — you guessed it — a person. If criminals want a firearm, they will get one. They don’t need background checks because criminals don’t rely on the legal way to obtain firearms, so laws are ineffective against them.
Now a little basic education. AR does not stand for assault rifle; it stands for ArmaLite rifle. An AR can be used for hunting and self-defense. AR magazines don’t hold bullets — it holds cartridges. If you are going to discuss firearms, learn the correct terminology instead of sounding like a fool.
Not selling pistol ammo means also not selling rifle ammo. A .22 rimfire pistol uses the same ammo as a .22 rimfire rifle. AR rifles come in many calibers which are also the same calibers that are used for hunting rifles. That would mean Walmart also wouldn’t sell it for hunting rifles.
Gun control will not stop the criminals; it only punishes the good guys.
—Gina Clarke, Shelby