What is the theme in In Our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines by Stanley Karnow?

Learning from history is a theme in this non-fiction book. Harry Truman's quote "Those who do not read and understand history are doomed to repeat it" is very pertinent to this story. The similarities between the Philippines, Vietnam, and even Iraq cannot be ignored. The common traits are: a country being occupied where natives yearn for autonomous rule, not being able to fight conventionally, public opinion waning, and mounting atrocities.