Kristol is simply grinding his axe on behalf of his employers, encouraging the "9/11 generation" to think of war as the natural state of man and something they should aspire to, and glorifying it as something to be enjoyed, which is a truly wicked suggestion.

And as a qualified, card carrying baby boomer, I am entitled to a right of reply.

I grew up in a military family and my first memories are of Mom and Dad listening to the news every night on the radio about a place called "Korea". On weekends in the 50's we would go on long picnics to places deep in the country, Mom and Dad pouring over military maps and teaching me how to use a compass and navigate. I later discovered that these "picnics" were actually Dad reconnoitering the ground for Army exercises for his reserve division.

By the time I was twelve, I was enrolled in my schools cadet corps and wore a uniform and learned to march and handle a rifle and machine gun. By thirteen I would take the train Saturday mornings to the rifle range for practice, with my military rifle over my shoulder, to the approving smiles of other train travellers ( I wonder what would happen today if a kid did this???)

We all had Family, relatives or friends who had fought in the First and Second World Wars who told us to be thankful we were not fighting and talked about the huge waste and destruction caused by both wars.

By eighteen I was enrolled as an Officer Cadet in my University's regiment - no "swinging 70's" for me and most other kids.

Then of course there was the cold war, and Cuba, and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, "Prague Spring" and mutually assured destruction, and civil defence, let alone Vietnam. We lived and had to learn to cope with the constant and potential fear that the Russians would start a nuclear war that would destroy civilization.

So no Mr. Kristol. It wasn't all sweetness and light and flower power.

But then again, Mr. Kristol doesn't know much about history either, or if he did, he conveniently forgets it. Our Parents, Grand Parents and Great Grand Parents had their fun too. Look no further than the Bloomsbury group and the roaring twenties.

As Professor Michael Howard put it, peace is an invention of man, that is preferable to alternatives, made possible by the rise of the nation/state. It is difficult to construct in the first place and requires constant physical, emotional and intellectual effort to maintain it intact.

Given this knowledge, it is extremely unedifying to anyone who has seen the consequences of war to watch someone like Kristol shake the foundations of peace, suggesting that war is a better alternative.