Letters

American Interests and Obligations

Mr. Nordlinger raises a legitimate question as to the extent to which Americans should be prepared to commit military resources, i.e., American lives, in furtherance of our treaty obligations (“Smaller Countries, Far Away,” October 24). Pursuant to realpolitik theory, the only time a state should commit its forces into any armed conflict is when its national interest is directly affected. That is the reason the Kremlin blinked during the Cuban missile crisis and why they never intervened directly during the Nicaraguan civil war on behalf of the Sandinistas. The Kremlin recognized correctly that these states were/are part of the American “sphere of influence” under the Monroe Doctrine, and not part of the Kremlin’s.