King, the best diplomats know how to be tough in response to . . . well, Quailnut's views are pretty much mine concerning most of your comments about this country. I was a diplomat of the "spook" variety, CIA, US Embassy, Rabat, Morocco (when Black September began their terrorist activities). Followed by almost 25 years in Military Intelligence, with a specific focus on counterintelligence/counterterrorism. My last assignment was as the de facto commander of the prototype Joint Reserve Intelligence Center, supporting the European Command's JAC (Joint Analysis Center), RAF Molesworth, UK. Retired at the rank of colonel in 1998, when President Clinton was busy whittling away at our military and intelligence community.
I try my best to tailor my responses so that they're as diplomatic as the messages to which they respond. As a model of diplomacy, I prefer Churchill to Chamberlain.
