Archived Editorial for 04/09/06

The more things change...
by Rebecca Brown

Michael Curtis Ford, the author of gripping, fictional military histories based on deep research: The Sword of Attila, Gods and Legions & The Ten Thousand sent us the translated version of this letter written by a Roman soldier, stationed in what we now call the Middle East, in the year 32 AD -- that's almost two thousand years ago:

“Cousin Tertullus in Rome:
     We had been told, on leaving our native soil, that we were going to defend the sacred rights conferred on us by our ancestors' toil and sacrifice and to bring benefits to populations in need of our assistance and our civilization.
     We were able to verify that all this was true, and, because it was true, we did not hesitate to shed our quota of blood, to sacrifice our youth and our hopes. We regretted nothing, but whereas we over here are inspired by this frame of mind, I am told that in Rome factions and conspiracies are rife, that treachery flourishes, and that many people in their uncertainty and confusion lend a ready ear to the dire temptations of relinquishment and vilify our action.
     I cannot believe that all this is true, and yet recent wars have shown how pernicious such a state of mind could be and to where it could lead.
     Make haste to reassure me, I beg you, and tell me that our fellow-citizens understand us, support us and protect us as we ourselves are protecting the glory of Rome.
     If it should be otherwise, if we should have to leave our bleached bones on these desert sands in vain, then beware of the anger of the Legions!”
Marcus Flavinius, Centurion of the 2nd Cohort of the Augusta Legion.

Substitute Home for Rome & you've got the situation today, here in the USofA -- except our worthy & patriotic military isn't likely to foment a plan to oust the folks in our Capitol, & they certainly aren't interested in ruling the country.

No, what our sons & daughters, husbands & wives, sisters & brothers, fathers & mothers, aunts & uncles & yes, even grandparents want... is for us back home to throw our hearts & minds into helping them get the job done with the best materiel available & not give in when the going gets tough...for them or takes longer than our simple minds think it “oughta”.

So, here's an epistle from a mother's son doing his duty for his empire. What is the intent of an empire? To conquer & claim new territory, primarily for commerce &, back in those “good old days”, for free workers -- slaves. It was always to add to the coffers of the rulers & the kitchens of the folks back home.

What the USA fought for in Vietnam, 35 years ago & is now fighting for in Afghanistan & Iraq had nothing to do with empire building or territory. It was, in Vietnam, to stop the dread tide of Communism -- we used to know that totalitarian anything is a hate-filled, suppressive way to live & doesn't work -- remember the downfall of the USSR in the 1990s? So what's happening in Vietnam today? It's a totalitarian Chinese-type Communist country, & remember, China prides itself for having a long heritage of empires. Sure, Vietnam welcomes aging GIs back because they bring with them the “almighty dollar”. I don't hear of any peaceniks going there, walking the talk that vilified their brothers who not only shed their blood for their country -- many of those who survived, had their lives derailed, especially by the “welcome” they received when they got Home. & don't get me started on the legacy of Agent Orange & PTSD!

Having come up in the embers of a dying empire, I'm fully aware that they come & go, as Marcus Flavius would have been had he lived long enough. What did the Roman Empire, which lasted about 400 years, leave behind in its far-flung wake? For one, the concept of bathing ourselves clean. It also introduced us to civil administration, coin money, a universal language, enduring architecture & jolly good roads. The same can be said of the British Empire which lasted some 250 years: except along with language, money & civil administration, Britons left behind railway systems, & a penchant for tea time, card games, cricket & cocktails.

In the 20th Century, modern empires -- Super Powers -- rose & fell too, China, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy & the USSR. Nowadays, most empires are of the business variety. What the USA & the Coalition forces are doing in Afghanistan & Iraq is not empire building -- we are there neither for the land nor the wealth of that land, nor for slaves. We are there to make sure that the totalitarian regimes that had those countries by the throat, no longer foster, teach, support & train the terrorists, or brag about their arsenal of death-dealing materiel -- whether imaginary or real -- who wish harm to law-abiding, peace-loving ordinary people in other parts of the world -- who happen to not live by the same belief systems.

Have you given any thought to how you'll be treated by a totalitarian Muslim empire? Today's jihadists bear no resemblance to their predecessors whom, for lack of a better historical name, I will call the Moors: they brought culture, math & science, astronomy, poetry, art, commerce & the Koran to the lands around the Mediterranean. & they were remarkably tolerant, for that time, of Jews & Christians. What the West is bringing to the Muslim world is the concept of democracy: rule by the people for the people. In case you haven't noticed it, people who are free to govern themselves, tend to prefer it that way. & it takes a couple of generations to work out the kinks, although the killing that's going on right now in Iraq & Afghanistan has more to do with the death throes of totalitarian bullies rather than the rejection of a democratic way of life.

It's become fashionable again to hate all things military. Friends fry our eardrums with their canned rants, derisive words & righteous indignation -- sound bites from party platforms & amoral talking heads -- not one original thought. & the cruelest cut of all, is their unabashed America bashing, even as they safely wallow in all the rights & privileges of living here in The Land of The Free. What part of Home of The Brave don't they get?

Today, we have the children of the “Question Authority” generation reaching maturity & their empty-nest parents are trotting along the halls of power, having flashbacks to their time in the sun when they harassed & harangued against the Vietnam War. They bring to this War Against Global Terrorism a mindset beset with anachronistic rallying cries & a penchant for self-fulfilling prophecies. They are the ones who're bleating that our efforts in Afghanistan & Iraq are “quagmires” just as they touted three decades ago was our involvement in Vietnam. The only quagmire then was that our politicians tied our military's hand behind its back with all the prohibitions oozing from their bleeding hearts & monetary faint-heartedness. Have they learnt nothing from our past & thus are going to force us to repeat our mistakes?

What if we did withdraw from Iraq & Afghanistan before both countries get on their political feet with an understanding & some practice of how democratic rule works? I've heard people say that all those IED attacks would cease immediately. That the only reason they're happening is because Coalition troops are there defiling Muslim lands. So who's bombing Iraqis as they queue to sign up for their police force & their army? Who's shooting up elected government officials & their bodyguards? Who's kidnapping & murdering foreigners? Who's executing whole groups of helpless men & boys? Who's bombing market places & oil pipelines? Looks to me, that under the guise of insurgency, certain Iraqis are intent on creating a lawlessness unrivaled since the Mob Wars in America during Prohibition.

& don't come whining to me that all the fuss is about that damned oil & its profits, well... duh! Are you prepared to do without your car (no matter its politically-correct size or gas mileage), your planes, trains & buses(no matter what fuel drives them), your plastic goods(your movies, your Blackberries & cell phones, your bags, pill bottles, eyeglasses & computer systems), your heating fuel? Are you prepared for the cost of living to rocket skyward as the trucks that deliver your strawberries in December, pass on the price of gas to the consumer -- you?

You may know your credit number, but do you know your carbon footprint?

Old Blood 'n' Guts

Rebecca