An American Odyssey, by Robert Timberg: on War & Peace

Vietnam's greatest injustice: burden of service on the poor

Some of his judgments were harsh, but he confined them mostly to the power structure. Political and military leaders had grossly underestimated the will and resiliency of the enemy. As for members of the antiwar movement, he did not buy their reasoning, but he endorsed their right to demonstrate. He even took a live-and-let-live attitude toward draft dodgers.

To the extent he admitted any anger, it was toward a system that put the burden of service on the poor and the powerless. "Those who were better off economically did not carry out their obligations, so we forced the Hispanic, the ghetto black, and the Appalachian white to fight and die. That to me was the greatest crime and injustice of the Vietnam War."

1999: Kosovo: We are in it; now we must win it

McCain continued to make his twofold argument: The world's lone superpower, having committed itself militarily, cannot afford to be humbled by an army of 40,000 in a country no larger than Connecticut.

Telling an adversary that he does not have to fear facing ground troops is a form of unilateral disarmament and only emboldens that adversary. In other words, you may never use ground troops, but you need to be prepared to employ them if necessary, and you sure as hell don't tell the other guy he doesn't have to worry about them.