An expert's testimony

An article in the April 12 issue of The Jakarta Post on the identification of areas of possible future unrest in Indonesia appears to have incorrectly applied the background of at least one of the two major contributors to the article. Much of the article references the thoughts of one whom the Post identified as being a historian.

However, none of the statements quoted as sourced from the historian have even the slightest connection to the scholarly subject of history. Rather, the errant quotations fall more in the category of futuristic fiction, if not trash. But, that which is more significant to the reader is that no reputable historian, even one of lesser or mediocre repute, would allow pure and unsubstantiated prognostications to be published under his name.

Based on facts that are published in thousands of the world's most highly respected journals, every day of the year, the United States of America is the greatest power the earth has yet known. No amount of insidious innuendo will alter that fact.

While the U.S. government has erred, as in the Vietnam War, the power of the U.S. electorate did prove its might by its ability to have its collective voice heard and acted upon. With God's grace, the world will enjoy the benefits of this greatest of world powers, made possible by the wisdom of its electorate, for many more generations yet to be born.

C. M. DUPUIS

Jakarta