The Elite Group of Four-Star Admirals

Lessons from the Munich Pact

The opinion-page article ``The Rooms That History Forgot,'' Sept. 30, evokes a profound sadness over the denials and compromises made by individuals and society during the Hitler atrocities and the stark realization that this kind of mentality is in operation today, Bosnia being a classic example. I made copies for our children not only because their dad spent more than four years in the military during World War II, but because the lessons to be learned from the Munich Pact are so potent and necessary today. How often do we trust government bureaucrats or think-tank gurus to do our thinking for us?

How often do we reelect congressional representatives who insist on hidden amendments before they will vote for a bill, thus increasing budget woes? How often do we elect candidates who have lied to Congress or lined their own pockets with bribes? Why wring our hands 50 years after the Munich Pact was signed - infamous as it was - unless we are willing to ask: How much of a Hitler is in me? How much of a Chamberlain? Anna Adams Vinson Pleasant Ridge, Mich.,

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