Last week, a Hong Kong court imposed a 20-year prison sentence on Jimmy Lai, China's most prominent advocate for freedom of speech and the press.

The Wall Street Journal was hardly alone in observing that because he is 78 years old and in failing health, the sentence is tantamount to a death penalty.

Nevertheless, an unnamed "Spokesman for the Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry" quickly fired off a letter to the Journal's editorial board.

"The Wall Street Journal owes it to the public to rise above the use of clickbait headlines and disinformation," he scolded. "For your information, Hong Kong formally abolished the death penalty back in 1993."

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"Carthago delenda est!"

In case your Latin is rusty, that means "Carthage must be destroyed!" Cato the Elder would repeat the demand in every speech he gave in the Roman Senate.

This was between the Second and Third Punic Wars in the 150s BCE. In case your history is rusty, too, the Punic Wars were between Rome (you know where that is) and Carthage (which was on the coast of what is now Tunisia).

The conflict spanned 118 years, from 264 to 146 BCE. Talk about your "endless wars"! As a matter of fact, I intend to – after subjecting you to just three more paragraphs of ancient history.

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Hindsight isn't always 20/20. It's reassuring to recall the Cold War as a time when the nations of the Free World (we capitalized the term back then) were united in a great struggle against Communism. The reality wasn't quite so neat.

For example, in 1966, Charles de Gaulle withdrew France from NATO's integrated military command, expelled NATO headquarters and forces from French soil, and pursued an independent nuclear deterrent and foreign policy. It only officially rejoined in 2009.

In the mid-1970s, there was serious concern that NATO member Portugal might go Communist. Also in that era, the Italian Communist Party often won a large share of the vote in national elections, peaking at almost 35% in 1976.

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Readers of a certain age will recall the late, great Tina Turner introducing her iconic performances of "Proud Mary" by informing her audience: "We never, ever do nothing nice and easy. We always do it nice and rough."

President Trump could say the same about his policymaking. Greenland is the most recent example.

Mr. Trump understands that the Arctic island is essential for America's national security and that of Europe as well. Look at the globe from above. The shortest routes for long‑range Russian or Chinese missiles targeting the U.S. pass over the polar region. There's also the Greenland‑Iceland‑UK (GIUK) gap, a key chokepoint through which Russian submarines must pass to reach the Atlantic.

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Iran, Venezuela, and Ukraine are very different countries, but most Iranians, Venezuelans and Ukrainians want the same thing: to not be ruled by tyrants.

They look to America for support – which means they look to President Trump. Where else and to whom else would they look?

To the U.N.? Sadly, that's now a club for dictators headed by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a senescent socialist sycophant.

What about the "international community"? Oh sure. Its capital is in Shangri-La, right? To qualify as a community means members share values, interests, and goals.

Millions of Iranians, Venezuelans, and Ukrainians do share a kind of fellowship. One of the attributes they have in common: patriotism.

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