cocktail courage and dinner-table heroism

This October 26 The Republic published a rather lengthy opinion by Charles Krauthammer taking President Obama to task over a shrinking United States military. I am surprised to learn about Mr. Krauthammer's concern for the US military. Although raised in Canada, Mr. Krauthammer was born and frequently resident in New York City and its suburbs. Though eligible and able at the time, he took no interest whatsoever in the United States military or serving in it during the Vietnam War.

I am pretty fed up with hearing from people, the cocktail courage and dinner-table heroism crowd, who think war and preparing for war are wonderful ideas, as long as someone else or someone else's children do the fighting.

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With age you should fail to remember what it was that was long in the past
the men in their boats
the shock and despair in their eyes as they watched us
and the smouldering City of Vinh
their smouldering City of Vinh.