Anyone equating the overseas presence of the United States military with the disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan will welcome this piece. So far American forces have been unable to pacify, much less democratize, a country roughly the size of California (Iraq) and a country the size of Texas (Afghanistan). But all branches of our armed services have been successfully working to keep the peace and build the infrastructure in a country the size of Massachusetts (Djibouti).

Nestled as it is on the horn of Africa, surrounded by Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia, desert-dry Djibouti could be an epicenter for terrorists. Thanks to the ongoing efforts of a mere 1700 American troops with a minuscule, uncorrupted budget of $49,000,000, Djibouti has not succumbed to Al Qaeda or the ragtag bands of bad guys who hold sway in Somalia.

Listen to this ace Stanley Foundation production: sounds of water gushing from a well signal the presence of American good guys with digging equipment. They have built and reopened schools, health clinics and veterinary centers in what was once a resource-poor hellhole on the Gulf of Aden.

Of course, U.S. forces in Djibouti specialize in training local militias to whack insurgents. Top American honcho Major John Hill considers his Djibouti mission is at the "forefront of where we should be in the future in Iraq [pronounced 'Eye Rack'] and Afghanistan [pronounced correctly]."

Wishful thinking or not, Djibouti, long a French colony, has become part of The American Military Protectorate. Neither our civilian Peace Corps, our State Department, or the United Nations has paid attention to this godforsaken republic, with a scant half-million Sunni inhabitants, the way our Pentagon has.

Considering our botched efforts in Afghanistan and Eye Rack, Kristen McHugh's report about what's going on in Djibouti is good news well worth hearing.