The Third World War

Reorganizing the Pentagon

Generally speaking it is the simplest problems that are the most difficult to solve. When it comes to a hard Yes-or-No on a critical issue—shall I quit my job? join the Church? marry the girl? enlist in the Army? —most of us are ready to go a long way to put off the plain, stark choice. What a deluge of words, written and spoken, we drown that sort of Yes-or-No in! So is it also with most key public issues: shall we help the Sumatra rebels? have a tax cut? appease the Russians? The choice is difficult just because it is so simple. We feel compelled to complicate it in order to hide from ourselves our reluctance to decide.

JB

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James Burnham

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Department of Defense

CIA

State Department

Reorganizing the Pentagon

Generally speaking it is the simplest problems that are the most difficult to solve. When it comes to a hard Yes-or-No on a critical issue—shall I quit my job? join the Church? marry the girl? enlist in the Army? —most of us are ready to go a long way to put off the plain, stark choice. What a deluge of words, written and spoken, we drown that sort of Yes-or-No in! So is it also with most key public issues: shall we help the Sumatra rebels? have a tax cut? appease the Russians? The choice is difficult just because it is so simple. We feel compelled to complicate it in order to hide from ourselves our reluctance to decide.