By Gabriel McCoard

I’m not going to tiptoe around semantics. America is at war. When missiles fly and civilians die, it’s a war. 

I remember the night the Uyghurs arrived in Palau. I’m sure everyone on the island that night 17 years ago remembers it. Shortly before dawn, with no commercial flights inbound, the loudest plane I’ve ever heard circled twice. As virtually the entire land mass of Palau lies in the flight path of the airport, the arrival was anything but secret.

I compared Greenland to Chuuk in these pages not too long ago. Two islands itching for full independence, Chuuk from the Federated States of