LAT op-ed by Donald Rumsfeld: This is what I meant...

[DeepModem Mom]

New Enemies Demand New Thinking
The secretary of Defense clarifies and expands on what he said in his recent speeches about appeasing extremists.
By Donald H. Rumsfeld, DONALD H. RUMSFELD is the U.S. secretary of Defense.
September 1, 2006

....We are again engaged in conflicts that are testing whether we believe that the defense of liberty is worth the cost. And again, there are those who disagree with the mission, who question whether it is worth the sacrifice. This is to be expected in a time of war.

Today, some think that World War II and the Cold War were black-and- white affairs: good versus evil. But there were always those who thought that we should retreat within our borders.

In an effort to avoid repeating the carnage of World War I, much of the Western world tried to appease the growing threats in Europe and Asia in the years before World War II. Those who warned against the rise of Nazism, fascism and communism were often ridiculed and ignored.

The enemy we face today is different from the enemies we have faced in the past, but its goal is similar: to impose its fanatical ideology of hatred on the rest of the world....

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...I do worry about the lack of perspective in our national dialogue — a perspective on history and the new challenges and threats that free people face today. Those who know the truth need to speak out against the myths and distortions being told about our troops and our country. My remarks at the Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion conventions have generated much discussion. I encourage everyone to read what I actually said at defenselink.mil/speeches.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-rumsfeld1sep01,0,2316909.story