According to Samir Khosla the job of the United States is to be the world's policeman, no matter how the majority of Americans feel about the cause. Apparently Samir does not know what we learned in Vietnam, so let me enlighten him.

First, have a clear-cut objective so we can get in there, accomplish our goals and then get out. Stopping racial or ethnic fighting is not a clear objective, we can not even do this in our own country, what makes Samir think we can do it in Bosnia?

Racial and ethnic crimes happen every single day and we have hundreds of thousands of well-trained police officers. What will a few thousand soldiers do -- just get killed. Thus, there is no clear objective in Bosnia.

The second lesson is to have the backing of the American people. Sure, most Americans are outraged when they saw on the evening news that a civilian market place was bombed. Yet ask these same Americans would they send their own children or even themselves to stop the fighting, most would say no. Just because the United Nations wants the United States to do something does not mean the United States should.

The final lesson is to have a definite date for withdrawing your forces. This lesson goes back to lesson number one in which to have a clear objective. U.S. forces could be in Bosnia for years before peace is achieved.

If we don't want to have another Vietnam we must apply the lessons we learned there to other places we might get involved in. If we don't, people like Samir and Bill, I dodged the draft, but I will send U.S. troops any where, Clinton will start another Vietnam in Bosnia.

"We shall have the war won by the end of the year," Gen. Westmoreland said this right before the Tet Offensive and the war continued for five more years!