American troops are in Bosnia trying to keep the peace in a world full of problems ranging from Europe to Central Asia to the Middle East to Africa to North Korea. There are too many people dying in too many wars around the world as well as terrorists and crazy people on killing sprees. Wars, ethnic cleansing, terrorism, crime, gangs, guns, drugs, overpopulation, famine, unemployment, disease, racism, illegal immigration, and unwed mothers are major concerns.
Our world is flooded with 5l7 billion people resulting in overcrowding, growing pollution, and an inability to support all these souls. Society seem to be swamped with illegitimate babies and has lost touch with the family. Don't you want a better world for your children? Are you satisfied with the outlook for our future as we approach the 21st Century?
If you are unhappy with this situation, and if you are doing nothing about it, then you have no right to complain according to Richard Hobbs in his hard hitting new book which is a call to action. He contends that, with problems everywhere, the country and the world need leadership.
Richard Hobbs graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1954 and entered the Infantry. As a paratrooper, Ranger, and Pathfinder, he had various troop assignments, including attending the British Jungle School in Malaya during the Emergency and in charge of Tropical Training for a Division in Hawaii.. He was selected as one of the original Olmsted Scholars and attended the University of Lyon in France receiving the degree of Docteur de l'Universit in international law and international relations.
Two tours were spent in Vietnam (one year each) advising Vietnamese paratroopers, serving as Executive to the Deputy Commander in Vietnam, managing a large fire base, and commanding a US infantry battalion. Instead of attending the Army War College, he was an Army Research Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. During that time he worked on a conference about the Western Mediterranean and reworked his thesis from Lyon which was later published by Westview Press as THE MYTH OF VICTORY What is Victory In War?
After serving in the Pentagon, his last assignment was as Politico-Military Advisor in the Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs in the Department of State in Washington. He was responsible for politico-military activities in international relations and military assistance to the Middle East during the period after the 1973 War. He retired from the Army as a colonel after 27 years.
Entering the business world, he joined Teledyne serving in various positions for over 10 years including Vice President - International where he worked with the Departments of State, Commerce, and Defense and the embassies on international policy questions and export licenses. During those years, he continued to work with the Middle East, traveling to the area, particularly Egypt, every few months and extensively through Africa.
He established his own consulting firm, Service International Ltd., for international business development which he moved to Reno in 1991. There he ran an export-import company for a while, built a slot machine, and taught courses in international politics and international conflict for undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Nevada, Reno. In addition to the large amount of teaching in the military, he had served as Assistant Professor of International Relations on the faculty of the Department of Social Sciences at West Point.
With an ongoing interest in national and international affairs, he wrote this book for citizens in an effort to emphasize that they can play a role in the momentous decisions of our times. His desire is to encourage people to take part in the political process and make their voices heard so that the active few cannot impose their views due to the apathy of the many.
