"The problem is, war has taught the Europeans in general, and the Germans in particular, a different set of lessons than it has taught America in the last century. War has taught us that when you go to war, you win, and come out the other side stronger than when you started. By contrast, war has taught our allies -- all of them -- that when you go to war, your cities are turned to rubble and your population is decimated. Even if you win, you lose economically, and the bloodstains take a long time to wash off the streets of your cities and towns.
"War has taught my German friends one other thing. It has taught them that when you go to war, you're wrong."
--Clifford McMurray
(in a letter explaining why Europeans view American policy differently
than Americans do.)
page by Geoffrey A. Landis, 2002/2003