Tragedy and Farce

This is a tragedy, but this is a farce. This, too. You cannot have development absent security. And you cannot have security without sacrifice. Kennedy and Layton may feel these lives were lost unnecessarily, that their sacrifice was unneeded (which is admittedly less morally unscrupulous than conceding that it is necessary but expecting someone else to do the heavy lifting, which I suspect they may feel down deeper). But that these lives were lost is just the point: they demonstrate a willingness to actually pay the cost of rebuilding failed states. Some politicians get this. Those who do not can join the list of those throughout history whose internationalism never mattered when it counted.