Ask a bloody question on Iraq. . . .

So we want to know how the Civil War will turn out?

Whether the war is in ancient Rome or Iraq today we humans always want to know.

Here's one way to find out.

Ask a local prophet, any monster with good underworld connections.

Watch while she picks a corpse from the battlefield, pulls it into a cave, pours poison and hot blood into its chest-cavity, adds bits of Arab snake and hyena and waits a while for its soul to return.

Why does the dead man have to live again?

Well, down where the souls go they know all the answers.

So who will win, the witch demands of the corpse.

But this soldier's soul isn't keen to come back.

She has to beat the living daylights into it.

A reptile is as good a whip as any.

At last, the bloody body warms up a bit.

OK, it still looks more dead than alive.

But it's got the news - fresh from the zones below.

What's that? Which side will win?

More and more dead, it reports.

That's all?

That's all.

So she sings and dances and burns the corpse so that it can die again.

On this fourth anniversary of 'mission accomplished'  in Iraq we can ponder the prophetic witch, Erichtho, used by the Roman poet Lucan for the Civil War between Pompey and Julius Caesar (Book 6: 624ff).

We can conveniently find her again in a new book by the Canadian classicist, Paul Murgatroyd.

Or we can be pleased that we have now so many more modern and sophisticated intelligence techniques.

Comments

[Tony Francis]

Sir Peter, It would appear there is another sex scandal brewing at the World Bank. From your paper we have: "Mr. Scholar has used his privileged position ... to influence bank staff to manipulate [name withheld]'s job description in a way to suit her limited professional qualifications. Without Mr. Scholar's intervention she would clearly not occupy her present position. In his statement, Mr. Scholar rejected the allegations." During Bill Clinton's problems we were told by US feminists that women had the right to use whatever skills they might bring to the job to their competitive advantage. We knew of only one skill Monica had, although testimony was never clear on how well she did it. I don't see why everyone is getting so worked up over all this sex business. It seems like we should have moved on. How antediluvian for this post modern world institute to waste our time and money fretting about small matters like this. Dare we say it? How Christian of them to impose their morality on employees. My gal-pal Simone de Beauvoir is flipping out. My other gal-pal, Ayn Rand is just shaking her head.

[Tony Francis]

"If you want to see the ultimate, suicide extreme of altruism, on an international scale, observe the war in Vietnam- a war in which American soldiers are dying for no purpose whatever." Ayn Rand. She got really histrionic over Kant: "Suppose you met a twisted, tormented young man and ...discovered that he was brought up by a man-hating monster who systematically worked to paralyze his mind, destroy his self-confidence, obliterate his capacity for enjoyment and undercut his every attempt to escape..Western civilization is in that young man's position. The monster is Immanuel Kant." I love the movie "The Fountainhead". It has some of the worst editing in Hollywood history. Gary Cooper makes a speech in the beginning. First is tie is up, then down, then left, then right. It is hillarious. The musical score is inspired. The sex scene is other-worldly. (Let's just say I've never run into any woman like Patricia Neal's character.) They are supposedly making a movie of "Atlas Shrugged" with Angelina Jolie. That should be beyond bizarre. Rand's group was ironically called "The Collective". It included Alan Greenspan, who is to be honored for guiding the US Fed through a period where we experienced no inflation. (Never mind that gas went from $1 to $3; milk: $1 to $3.50; eggs 45 cents to $2 a dozen; if you factor these out, there is no inflation.) Rand began a torrid affair with another member of the Collective, Nathan Branden (nee Blumenthal). This ended in bitterness and sorrow, which was never reconciled, confirming Camus' observation: "Friendship sometimes ends in love, but love in friendship-never."

[Tony Francis]

More Quotes: "Familiarity breeds contempt,- and children." Mark Twain
"It's easier to stay out than to get out." Mark Twain

And finally, another one from Simone De Beauvoir: "The value of muscular strength, of the phallus, of the tool can be defined only in a world of values; it is determined by the basic project which the existent seeks transcendence."
I have no idea what this means, but I think I am in love!
Oh, Simone!

[Tony Francis]

"Some Quotes, and a Question." "The more a man cultivates the arts, the less he fornicates. A more and more apparent cleavage occurs between the spirit and the brute." Charles Baudelaire. This seems a curious statement from a man who supposedly had syphilis. The use of the word "cleavage" is suspect. Still, maybe we should get Wolfie a paint-by-numbers set. It might save us some grief, and give him some relief. By accident, I ran across this from Simone De Beauvoir: "In order for the artist to have a world to express he must first be situated in this world, oppressed or oppressing, resigned or rebellious, a man among men." The use of the masculine seemed a little strange, coming from her. Then there was H. L. Mencken: "Misogynist: A man who hates women as much as women hate one another." This seemed too cruel for my tastes. All women are fair blossoms who bring blessings to our lives. This one is more fitting: "When the candles are out, all women are fair." Plutarch. But back to Simone: "Clitorid and vaginal, like the categories bourgeois and proletarian, are inadequate to encompass a concrete woman." I think I know what she is talking about. But, then I think I don't. Then there was: "Existentialism has freed us..." This gal is too brainy for me. So any ladies out there care to expound? (Or fair gentlemen?)

[Tony Francis]

"Man is a communal animal. Therefore, man is a political animal." Aristotle. We might update Aristotle by saying, "Humans are political animals." Yes, it has everything to do with politics, and on several levels. Wolfie had gotten on the wrong side of a different international financier at the World Bank, therefore, his meretricious escapade was exposed. He wasn't seeking attention; just the opposite. The war looks more like Vietnam everyday. Back in the 1950's, strong elements were pushing Eisenhower to get involved in Vietnam. He sent General Ridgeway, who adivsed, "avoid a land war in Asia." When JFK and LBJ came in, they got involved, mainly because of General Maxwell Taylor. It had to do with left wing idealogues thinking the military could do something it wasn't designed to do. LBJ thought he could get Uncle Ho to sue for peace with some welfare project; i.e. a hydroelectric dam in the north. It didn't work out like that. There was never a viable plan to win the war in Vietnam. Operation Phoenix killed its few hundreds. The north summarily executed 10,000 in Hue in 1968. It took just a few days. The war between Iran and Iraq produced over one million spinal cord injuries. The US military has no interest in raping and pillaging. Military leaders were aghast at the thought of this war. They can look at a map. So here we are, four years later, using the US Army in a grandiose welfare project. A favorite book on Vietnam is "The Best and The Brightest" by David Halberstam, who was recently killed. It is overly long and repetitive, but it is a good read. One thing: they finally got gasoline to $3 a gallon in the US. That was probably one of the goals, all along.

[Dion Per Sona]

Does politics have anything to do with this? We are referring to a third-rate pseudo intello whose random ecluberations finally produced a sinister farce when he attracted the attention he felt he deserved.

There's a publishing phenomenon unique to the US: pol-"sci" monthlies and quarterlies, where true trash trots its very strange stuff. It's mostly laughable, unarguably futile. But then the power of bad ideas resides in their ability to provide pretext and cover for rape and pillage.

Truly rotten ideas cannot help but hit paydirt.

[Tony Francis]

"If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?" Will Rogers

[Tony Francis]

"When a man engages in sexual intercourse, either inside or outside marriage, he brings solicitude into his life." Aquinas in "Summa Contra Gentiles". I am not sure what you mean by people falling out of style. This crowd never goes away; it only reinvents itself. Scooter Libby was the lawyer who caused Bill Clinton to pardon billionaire Marc Rich for tax dodging. He and Wolfowitz are rehashed Democrats who cooked up the war in Iraq. The whole neo-con movement is full of reformed lefties. Even the "neo-con-ubine" has gotten a fat job for a foundation under the aegis of the US State Department.

[Dion Per Sona]

Bother. I have to add a footnote.
Scatology is employed here as an analogy for the tens of thousands of unpleasant persons, up to no good, who will also be suddenly out of style when Wolfowitz hits the skids.

[Tony Francis]

"Praise, like gold and diamonds, owes its value only to its scarcity." Samuel Johnson. We have had to endure all sorts of unsults directed toward Wolfie's gal pal: Wolf-ucker; World Bank Skank; etc. I shant repeat them all. It would be distasteful. But "laxative face"? Surely this is over the top. Rarely have we seen a more comely, seemly lass than this. And she has really good skin. Ladies: Please conduct yourselves in a lady-like manner! This is Tony Francis, signing off... powerless, girlfriend-less, very handsome... defender of beautiful women, everywhere.

[Dion Per Sona]

As Frederick's light tenor sings in the Pirates of Penzance: "O is there but one maiden here/Whose homely face and bad complexion/Has caused all hope to disappear/Of ever winning man's affection..."

Which just about sums it up for Wolfie's girlfriend. If Helen's was the face which launched a thousand ships, then surely Ms R.'s is one which ditched ten thousand sh*ts.

[Tony Francis]

"Friendship often ends in love, but love in friendship - never." Albert Camus. I was personally shocked to find that Paul Wolfowitz had a girlfriend. As Henry Kissinger said, "Power is the ultimate aphrodesiac." Speaking of which, Henry the K always had some good looking eye candy on his arm as well. How do guys who look like that, get the women? It is a conundrum. My mother said Henry K sounded just like her favorite grandfather. But, I don't think she would have gone out on a date with him. I am much better looking than either of those two gentlemen. I'm not just saying this. People who know have said it. I have always led a monkish existence, going from one school to another, like some men go through mistresses. But if Wolfie can get a girlfriend, it makes me bitter. What was she thinking? What was he thinking? I thought I was too old to housebreak. But maybe not. This is Tony Francis, signing off... powerless, girlfriend-less, lonely, and definitely whining about it.

[Dion Per Sona]

RUMMING TIMES

The big, wide world is thrilled to bits
As all and sundry call their chits,
They tease, deride, and pick his gnits:
He summoned war and lied for tits!
Now we'll see the back of Wolfowitz.

[Dion Per Sona]

The mayor of Baghdad, who was immediately able to organise resistence and attempted to minimise chaos caused by the illigitmate invasion of Iraq by corporate pirates (he was assassinated within ten days) exclaimed: "They are going to turn us all into Palestinians! They're going to try!"

Others burbled and wasted our time. They're still at it. All the oil in Iraq cannot ransom the lost honour of so many who quietly crept into step behind sadistic tortuers, just to get along.

[Tony Francis]

"Operation Phoenix: Mission Accomplished" The CIA, during Vietnam conducted a program of killing any suspected communist. It was called Operation Phoenix. If you didn't like your neighbor, report him, and there was a good chance he would be summarily executed in the night. The program worked. There was no communist activity during Tet 1968 in those provinces under the aegis of the CIA. The US public was so outraged when the program came to light, that the CIA was put on a much tighter leash. So much a leash, that we started getting bad intelligence. Still, there is cause for concern. If they would do that with box cutters and airliners, what would they do with anthrax and atom bombs? The mission was completed in Iraq. Saddam was out, and what weapons of mass destruction there may have been, were gone. So what are we still doing there? It's called "mission creep". Now we are building schools and sewer lines, spending money we don't really have. And using the US Army to do it. When I was a trauma surgeon during the first Desert Storm, I was surprised at the enthusiasm of the soldiers. Most were too young to recall much about Vietnam. But if they have a war, all kinds of guys (and increasingly, girls) want to be in it. That's just a fact. Vietnam fell to the north, despite our efforts. While it is significant to the people there, it has had little consequence to the US as a whole, (other than the appearance of many Vietnamese US citizens). Are insurgents coming in from Iran and Syria? Who knows? But should we be dismayed? Why were we astounded North Vietnamese were coming in through Cambodia? It just seems like we have been here before, and in living memory.

[Patrick]

Indeed the mission involved much more than simply overthrowing Saddam. There was the privatisation/rape of the country's resources for starters.

[Frank Wilson]

Regarding the "Mission Accomplished" meme, I fear it is misrepresented - surprise, surprise - by the embedded political ad. The banner was flown by the carrier crew, whose mission had indeed been accomplished.
What the President said at the time was this:
"We have difficult work to do in Iraq. We're bringing order to parts of that country that remain dangerous. We're pursuing and finding leaders of the old regime, who will be held to account for their crimes. We've begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated. We're helping to rebuild Iraq, where the dictator built palaces for himself, instead of hospitals and schools. And we will stand with the new leaders of Iraq as they establish a government of, by, and for the Iraqi people.

"The transition from dictatorship to democracy will take time, but it is worth every effort. Our coalition will stay until our work is done. Then we will leave, and we will leave behind a free Iraq."

Not much different from what Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said prior to the President's address:
"Tonight President Bush will address our Nation and will tell the world that Operation Iraqi Freedom's military action is over, at least insofar as major military engagements may be required. We know we will have continuing problems, like those we have seen in the last few days. But it is true we are now moving toward the second phase, which is the rebuilding of Iraq. So this colloquy we are having today is especially timely because of the President's announcement this evening."

[Tony Francis]

"A Greek Red Herring." The origin of the name Erichtho is of interest. She is an obscure figure, appearing in Lucan, Dante and Faust. It must be Greek, and indeed it is. At first, the color red comes to mind: erysipelas: red skin infection; erysipeloid: red skin lesions; erythema: redness of the skin; erythrocyte: red blood cell; erythrism: red hair; erythrite: red hydrated arsenate of cobalt; even the French Latin cerise (from dark red cherry). It comes from the Greek root "reudh". This leads to the Latin rubicundus; rubescent; rissole; roux; russet, and all the others. Red might be the appropriate color. But then we must consider the Furies: Erinyes: the souls of the dead (and probable communicators with the same). Alecto: unceasing anger; Tisiphone: avenger of murder; Magaera: jealous. This seems to be more to the point. It comes from "eribus", the Latinized "erebus": nether world and darkness. And consider the Greek "eris" for strife. Eris: the goddess of discord. Erichtho Nius invented the chariot to hide his feet which were those of a dragon. And Ericthonius who as the monster child of Hephaestus and Gaea, half human, half monster. The adopted child of Athena, there was a temple to Erichthius near the Acropolis. So it would appear Erichtho is not red but black, and deadly, and menacing, filled with strife. An appropriately disturbing figure, indeed.

[Tony Francis]

"Disturbing Image: Disturbing Subject." The painting is by Dali, 1936, and contemplates the coming Spanish Civil War. It is self-expanatory in its visuals. It also strikes something in the emotions, and where it goes is not pleasant. This painting is at the Philadelphia Museaum of Art. It is subtitled "Boiled Beans". If one looks at an enlarged view, there are several boiled beans in the forefront of the gruesome bodies. This, apparerently refers to an ancient Spanish custom of offering boiled beans to appease the gods of war. It didn't work in this case. The war came. Dali refused to take a side. The rebellion thrilled the American left, and drew in many socialists and communists from this country. It was the Abraham Lincoln brigade (as if Lincoln was a communist!). And who can forget all the movies of the era, glorifying the fight? The works of Hemingway. The slaughter of Catholic seminarians. The early Luftwaffe. Guernica. And Franco. Dali got it correctly.