Tangent...

Up to this point my blog has been limited to new on the flight school process. My posts have been few and far between mostly because I haven't been flying much. Difficulty managing the numbers of students, combined with the slowdown resulting from a crash in the training command last spring, have caused a tremendous backlog in training. To work on clearing the backlog, the squadron decided to consistently fly students in the latter half of the program because the skills they were learning are more critical and perishable, i.e. carrier quals, air combat maneuvering (ACM) etc. Those of us starting out don't really know anything yet, so we cant really forget much either. As a result, I have not been flying much. Currently I am waiting for the backlog to clear a little so I can start learning to fly from the front seat. All of this adds up to a lot of junior naval officers sitting in Kingsville with nothing to do. Right now I am essentially being payed to do absolutely nothing. This is a colossal waste of taxpayer resources, but that is a topic for another discussion.

This free time has been both a source of joy and frustration. On the one hand its given me nearly unlimited time to pursue interests, hobbies, read about what interests me. On the other it leaves me (along with all of my friends down here), directionless, without a clear purpose for each day, for weeks at a time. This is compounded by the fact that we live in a town of 25000 on the edge of the United States. Not the place most 20-somethings dream about living in.

But rather than leave month-long gaps in this web log, I thought I might share a number of the thoughts, ideas, and discoveries that have been flowing through my mind throughout the past few weeks and months. I tend to think a lot. And Ive had a lot of time to think. Hopefully some will gather value from some of these musings. And I hope some will spark discussion. If nothing else it will serve as a public journal to record a few of the multitude of stray ideas and trains of thought that swirl through my brain.

I just finished reading an intriguing book on the history of the CIA, called "Legacy of Ashes." It paints a picture of American foreign policy since WWII that is intriguing and appalling. Some of what is in the book is common knowledge, most of it was new to me. Throughout the cold war the CIA repeatedly meddled in the affairs of foreign governments, fixing elections, sponsoring military coups, even plotting assassinations - and all in the name combating the spread of communism. Some of the real gems include the overthrow of a moderate democratically-elected prime minister of Iran (because he confronted British oil companies that were cheating his country out of millions), as well as the installation and support of two of the 20th centuries most cruel dictators - Joseph Mobutu and Augusto Pinochet. It is staggering the effect that this organization has had, and continues to have, on world events. The overthrow of Iran's prime minister (Mohamed Mossadeq), and the installation of the shah helped to fuel the rise of radical Islam and Ayatollah Khomeni. In fact, the ayatollah was part of one of several groups that the CIA funded to help over throw Mossadeq. The funding and arming of rebel groups in Afghanistan put tremendous pressure on the Soviets, and contributed greatly to the collapse of the Soviet Union. But our subsequent abandonment of the groups we funded left a massive power vacuum - which was filled by a number of wealthy Saudis who moved into the country to buy power and influence over the Muslim mujaheddin. This was the beginning of al-Qaeda. I continue to get the sense that every immoral and unjust action that we ever took as a nation in order to combat our enemies (no matter how heinous they were) is coming back to haunt us.

Ah, it is all fascinating (and terrifying) stuff. And encouragingly, what I know of the conduct of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are finally learning from some of our 20th century foreign policy missteps. Despite what is prevailing public opinion, I think we a starting to get it right. Unfortunately, it is costing us dearly, both in terms of dollars and lives, in the process. I pray that we continue to learn. I desperately want to be part of an American foreign policy machine dedicated to promoting peace, security and freedom throughout the world, and not the opposite.