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Well said.

I would only add that whether or not they love us; whether or not they respect us; let us make sure that, at a minimum, they fear us.

Our troubles have largely come because of a perception that American society has become morally flabby and weak-willed. According to this reasoning, the armed forces of such a society of invertebraes would reflect the self-absorbed, materialistic, thumbsucking population at large.

Southern fire-eaters made a somewhat comparable miscalculation about the North in 1861. Certainly Germany did so twice, as reflected in the judgments of the Kaiser and Hitler. Tojo and his fanatical war cabinet did no less.The Soviets mounted an aggressive policy of expansion in response to the crippling effect the Watergate aftermath had on the executive branch and our intelligence services. Add to that the Carter years and the smiles must have been broad in the Kremlin back in the '70s.

But the South misjudged the tenacity of federal troops and their commanders. Germany did likewise in two wars, and Japan in one. The Soviet Union hadn't counted on Reagan running the show. It underestimated his grasp of foreign policy and his willingness to repudiate Carterism for a 600-ship Navy and America's return to a muscular foreign policy.

Finally, Islamo-Nazis, lulled into delusions of American impotence by eight years of Bill Clinton, killed Americans with impunity until 9/11. By then, Billy Jeff was gone. The adults were again in charge and payback would be merciless.

Once more, America has taught the world a lesson: We would rather remain at home and tend to our own affairs. But if you threaten to kill us, disrupt our economy or overthrow our sovereignty, there will be hell to pay.

That, of course, presupposes several things:

A) Americans' tentative relationship with the God of the Bible is strengthened.
B) That we not trifle with Israel's security by promoting a Palestinian state run by pirates whose hatred for the Jewish State might rival Hitler's hatred for Judaism.
c) That Congress reads and respects the Constitutional outline for spending under Article 1, Section 8. In short, federal spending beyond the call for military preparedness is limited to a handful of activities. Our military, notwithstanding its brilliant performance in Iraq, is underpaid and underequipped. The damage from Clinton's war against the Pentagon must be reversed much as Carter's was by Reagan.
D) That acts of violence against Americans abroad -- even handfuls or individuals -- be avenged. Those guilty of such crimes must be apprehended and tried by U.S. courts. Those for whom apprehension might not be feasible must meet with devastating and message-sending accidents.
E) Our foreign policy must focus only on America's best interests. The applause of foreign leaders or their constituencies is nice, but should not influence our decisions.

To be loved is wonderful. To be respected is desirable. To be feared is indispensible.