that simple, the best policy for us wouldnsimply be hands-offi let them slaughterneach other. But it isn’t that simple, andnhere the information packed into Durand’snnovel is valuable. The confusion innCambodia may be epitomized by thencontradictory title of the early youthnmovement sponsored by Prince Sihanouk:nThe Khmer Royal Socialist Youth.nUnder that monarch corruption andngreed were a way of life, as he did a tightropendance of diplomacy to maintain hisnposition of power, keeping vying factionsnlulled or satisfied while maintainingncordial relations with Peking, Moscow,nand Paris. But when he allowednCambodia to become a sanctuary for thenVietcong, U.S.-supported South Vietnamninvaded Cambodia and the prince wasndeposed. The U.S. helped install Lon Nolnas the new head of state; he was supposednto be the good guy, fighting both thenVietcong and the equally villainousnKhmer Rouge, a communist guerrillanmovement of “indigenes.” Russia supportednthe Vietnamese communists,nChina supported the Khmer Rouge, andnthe U.S. supported Lon Nol. Each groupntried to outdo the other in ferocity andnincredible barbarity. Lon Nol’s forcesnwere overwhelmed and became dispersednguerrillas as the erstwhile guerrillas,nKhmer Rouge, took power. UndernPol Pot, these indigenes began a programnof apparent genocide with the aim ofnreturning Kampuchea to the Khmers.nAfter the U.S. abandoned South Vietnam,nthe victorious Vietnamese communistsninvaded Cambodia to attack the KhmernRouge, who dispersed once more intonbeleaguered guerrilla groups. And nownPrince Sihanouk is back in the confiisionnas a rallying figure for a coalition of guerriUangroups now fighting together againstnnumerically superior, better-equippednVietnamese forces. Thailand, about tonbe drawn into the border warfare, declaresnthat Vietnam is practicing genocidenagainst the Cambodians.nAll this brings us to the inescapablenquestion: Should we be involved in thisndistant, many-faceted war which hasnraged intermittendy for millennia? Tonfind the answer, the causes which havendrawn us into other conflicts outsidenour national boundaries must be examined.nFirst of all, if a war is truly an internalnaffair, then in the name or democracynthat country should be left alpne to worknout its own aifairs and destiny. In thencase of World War I and World War II,nnational borders were overrun by foreignnforces. We went to their rescue andnpractically no one faulted us for it. Butnafter World War II, the game changedndrastically. Russian expansionism createdna divided Germany as well as a galaxy ofnsatellite countries conquered by subversionnand brute force. Chinese communismnand Russian support created andivided Korea. The goal of world dominionnby communist Russia had become anfeet of life. Before World War I and betweennthe two world wars there hadnbeen talk about Fortress America, ofnwithdrawing fl-om the affairs of other nations.nBut the majority of Americans rejectednthat stance. With World War IInand the creation of the United Nations,nwe were committed to the concernsnHnOCCASIONAL PAPERSnThe Rockford Institute presentsnthe latest two additions to itsnOccasional Papers series.nand aspirations of other nations. WhennSouth Vietnam called for our help in establishingnand maintaining a democracy,nwe went to her aid. We now have commitmentsnto support a free Thailand, butnthe fear of another Vietnam debaclenlooms in our minds.nDespite opinions to the contrary,nwe could have won in Vietnam both diplomaticallynand militarily. Three factorsncontributed to our humiliating failurenthere: ineffective diplomats, poor propaganda,nand insuflScient firepower. Becausenof its shrewder diplomacy andntougher propaganda, Soviet Russia nownoccupies our bases in Vietnam, the airfieldsnwhich we built at great expense,nthe seaports we developed. ThroughoutnEurope and elsewhere, Soviet propagandanencourages “peace demonstrations”nwhile the slightest flicker of ansimilar disarmament demonstrationnwithin the U.S.S.R. is instandy snuffednout. The cards are on the table, fece up.nAs these two novels indicate, we neednboth national morality and a resoluteninternational policy to win. Dn”The Family and the Free Economy”nThe editor of Persuasion At Work, Dr. Allan C. Carlson, arguesnthat the nation’s economic difficulties and social difficulties maynbe the same problem.n”America’s Secret Life-Giving Weapon:nObservations on the Nuclear Freeze”nDr. John A. Howard, president of The Rockford Institute, identifiesna surer road to peace than the popularized nuclear freeze.nAvailable for 35