Editor,

The problem with people like me who knows nothing about anything is: we tend to make a lot of speculations from respectable people's opinions. After reading the article about the US Ambassador's (Mr. Larry M. Dinger) comments in his recent visit to the kingdom, it left a lot of room for me to read between the lines.

Mr. Dinger started with praising the Tonga Defense Force's (TDS) exemplary execution of its duties in Baghdad, Iraq. But then he said "the visiting USS Reuben James FFG57 is a visible way of the U.S. military saying 'thank you' . . . and there are 220 people out there who are in Nuku'alofa spending money, so it is very good for the economy."

Most people may agree with the Ambassador, but not this village idiot. I am suspecting the mighty United States of America is equating the sending of the sailors to the kingdom as equal to the deployment of the TDS in Iraq. I am suspecting the US is sending private citizens in military uniforms to spend their own money as a US new Foreign Aid Policy. The ambassador may have been too proud to acknowledge this new policy. Fortunately, my suspicion is clearly not the case. The United States of America is truly grateful for her friend (the kingdom) for what the TDS do in Iraq.

That being said about our friendship with the US, Mr. Dinger is fully aware of the kingdom's struggle to secure a loan to rebuild its capital and her ailing economy. I will claim my ignorance, but I have not heard any offer by the US to assist with this rebuilding effort as a token of her appreciation for "what the Tongans have done, that no non U.S. force has ever done in Baghdad." Those are his exact words. If that is the case, the Tongans have got to be very special in Washington D.C. On the other hand, the Chinese government is willing to help rebuild our capital but on her own terms. Yet, she is not asking for assistance from the TDS to police the spitting public in Beijing in preparation of the upcoming Olympic Games. Who is the real friend, I wonder.

In case Mr. Dinger is listening, the Tongans and their economy are in trouble. Maybe, Washington ought to know. This may be a good time for Washington to help out a friend in her time of need. Sending a ship full of horny sailors is a good recipe for spreading venereal disease, but not for reviving a kingdom and her struggling government.

In the event the US government does not provide economic assistance to our rebuilding effort, but keeps insisting on sending boatload of sailors to the kingdom to show her expression of gratitude for what we do for them, someone from the Foreign Affairs Office ought to stand at Queen Salote wharf and say to the Americans, "Go away! We no like your diplomacy."

TamaFoa

tamafoa [at] comcast [dot] net