LETTER: History tells us U.S. is right in dealing with Iran’s threat

To Ozaukee Press:

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” philosopher George Santayana stated in the early 1900s. Looking at the current world situation, a little review of U.S. foreign policy might be a good thing to do.

Looking at the 1930s decade of history, Japan invaded China at that time, decimating the country and its population. As a result, Mao and his communist leaning forces expanded and were able to come into power later. We did not pay enough attention to that Japanese aggression to see what they would do to us at Pearl Harbor.

Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party came into power in Germany in that same decade. Hitler’s pattern of neighboring country domination and aggression already started showing its ugly face at that time. Dachau as a “re-education camp” was opened in 1933 for those who did not agree with Nazi philosophies and were already being persecuted. The persecution of the Jewish population was starting to rear its ugly head. U.S. government leaders were busy fighting the Great Depression, but maybe more attention could have been paid to Japanese and German aggression.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s. Gen. Douglas MacArthur warned of Chinese intervention in the Korean conflict and proposed more aggressive U.S. government military policy. He was not listened to and relieved of his post, leaving us with the North and South Korean situation that we have today.

Forward to the early 2000s. Ahmad Shah Massoud, a guerrilla fighter in Afghanistan, five months before 9/11, warned the then president of the U.S. about the radical influence going on in his country and others in the Middle East by Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda. His words were, “It will affect the United States and a lot of other countries.” Massoud was assassinated in his country two days before 9/11/2001. His as-a-friend warning to us was prophetic and should have been listened to by the government.

There are some people critical of the U.S. policy and actions now in the Middle East, and especially in Iran. I think that maybe by looking at history and some of the actions not taken by past leaders, President Trump, his cabinet and our military leaders are making the right decisions. They hope to make the world safer and more secure by not letting another country develop or obtain nuclear weaponry. The risk that Iran might use that weaponry is too high.  We owe the hope of a safe and secure world to our future generations.

Karen Meador

Port Washington