Word: world
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...Ayatullah Khomeini, with his campaign of terror and death, may have captured Iran; however, John Paul II, with his mission of peace and compassion, has captured the world...
...better or worse, the movie's out, and initial response from both Trekdom and the outside world ("the mundanes") is ominous. When a True Trek Believer says "Well, maybe the sequel will be better" before the Enterprise even leaves dock, you know there are problems. The special effects beat the plot into submission. The dialogue is stilted, relegated to the role of filler between interminable shots of the Enterprise or "that...thing" which is threatening Earth. The actors are often mere props, going through the motions trying vainly to recapture long-lost glory, not given a chance to grow...
...theory circulating in Washington goes like this: after the disaster in Vietnam, the U.S. grew so timid about flexing its muscles in the Third World that it lost the will and ability to defend "legitimate interests" there. As a result, when the Tehran mob broke traditional standards of international law and took the embassy occupants hostage, America felt powerless to respond. To avoid such embarassing nuisances in the future, the Pentagon's friends in Congress argue, the U.S. must develop a "quick-strike force" able to dump a motorized division anywhere in the Third World within 60 days. Congress approved...
...open to very different interpretations, however; and a careful examination of the arguments for the force reveals more suspect purposes. Senator Gary Hart (D-Colo.), for example, told The New York Times why we need the quick-strike force: "Our forces aren't structured well to intervene in Third World countries. sixteen infantry divisions don't do you a bit of good in Angola...
What's worst about this jingoist response is that it obscures the one valuable lesson America might glean from the events in Iran. Air-mobile divisions wouldn't have helped avoid the taking of the hostages; but a more open-minded appraisal of the domestic dynamics of Third World nations, instead, coupled with a more visible reluctance to support repressive dictatorships, surely would. No amount of money spent on flexible military capabilities will protect our "vital interests"--like Middle East oil--as effectively as a wholehearted effort to understand cultural forces like Islam...