GG091201: The War Path Not Taken

Smedley Butler — The ships of our navy, it can be seen, should be specifically limited, by law, to within 200 miles of our coastline. … Two hundred miles is ample, in the opinion of experts, for defense purposes. Our nation cannot start an offensive war if its ships can’t go further than 200 miles from the coastline. Planes might be permitted to go as far as 500 miles from the coast for purposes of reconnaissance. And the army should never leave the territorial limits of our nation. —