Michael,

I thought about what you said, and in the end, as a former US Marine, I came to the same conclusion I started with - I would have chosen differently.

I enjoy the movie "Enemy Mine", as well. And the clip you linked to is moving. It highlights beautifully your point that these two individuals of these battling races have chosen to work together for survival, and further, they are learning to respect each other. In the end of the movie, Quaid is not exactly beloved on Earth. But because of his risk in returning to the alien homeworld in order to finalize (in song) the young boy's heritage to the elders, they accept the boy and Quaid.

And I think that is where the similarities continue wtih your situation. Worlds, and nations, at or near at war walk a completely different path than individuals do.

Individuals have the luxury of meeting personally to discuss ideas and try to work to compromise when differences occur. Nations do not have that luxury, since there is far more at stake. I believe that was proved true in World War I and II, when too many nations thought they could simply play nice and Hitler would leave them alone.

Supply chains may have existed before large scale military actions, but these methods were certainly perfected when managing the huge machinations of militaries as they moved, bivouced, and attacked across agrarian societies. Whether you agree with the politics and/or necessities of war, they exist, and governments use them to try and improve and/or defend their own peoples.

In times of war, individuals need to consider the ramifications of who they speak to, what they discuss, and what new information can be used by the opposing government against our own people. Especially when those opposing governments have sworn to wipe our allies off the planet, and have identified our country as an evil that should be eradicated.

If you had not assisted, they would still have attempted to translate your book. Understood. But without your assistance they may have introduced translation errors, which may then have reduced the military benefit of this new information. Or they could have gotten another supply chain expert to help them translate, but then you would not have been involved.

Your intentions were obviously good, as it is apparent you are trying to open a door of communication with the Iranian scientists and businesspeople. It is also possible that your Iranian counterparts may also be well-intentioned.

The crux of the issue is that information, once available, is used. US supply chain knowledge and processes are top notch. By making your supply chain knowledge available to the Iranians in their own language, that barrier to market entry is removed, and they can begin using that information for ANY purpose. Including military purposes.

With the Iranian government's stated intent of eliminating The Great Satan and our Israeli allies, and their obvious disdain for the international community's concern about their nuclear ambitions, adding to that government's knowledge in any capacity that can aid them in their goals creates too great a risk for me. I would have chosen differently.

Semper Fi!
Mark Cummuta