Shakespeare has it that an astrologer warned Julius Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March." Ignoring the warning, Caesar attended the Senate meeting on March 15, 44BC. On his way he ran into this same astrologer and called out, "The Ides are come." The astrologer answered, "Yes they are come, but they are not passed." Later that day Caesar was assassinated.
What forebodings can astrologers find in the stars today? Is March the month to march? Our boys are going into Yemen on the Persian Gulf. They're after the Filipino rebels in the Far East and they are marching into Georgia in the former Soviet Union. They are still looking for Osama in the mountains and caves of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Will the three nations of "The Axis of Evil" be next?
Countries are lining up to get us to come in with our F-16s, black helicopter gunships, unmanned missile shooting aircraft, and our very deep pockets, to root out their insurgents by claiming that al Qaeda is lurking in their midst. Soon we can say that the sun never sets on U. S. troops fighting terrorists.
As Senator Robert Byrd said, "If this keeps up, the war on terror could last beyond doomsday."
Terrorist strikes on Sept. ll spurred a tremendous surge of patriotism and sent President Bush's poll ratings through the roof. Sir Rudolph Gulianni was transformed from a wife and girl friend juggler at Gracie Mansion into a national hero. George, the Younger, suddenly became Winston Churchill, George Washington, and George Patton rolled into one.
He knows how to deliver a simple message: "We'll bring the evil ones to justish." "They can run but they can't hide." "We'll get 'em dead or alive." In Texas young boys grew up watching westerns where the line between the good guys and the bad guys was never blurred. George W. learned these lessons well.
As the surge of patriotism and the poll numbers begin to ebb, can this world-wide search for "evil doers" be a decoy-an elaborate extension of the "Wag the Dog" theory?
Religious fanatics who become terrorists threaten peace and order in the world. They should be stopped but we cannot go it alone striking hither and yon. This is a job for the United Nations. That's what it was formed to do. Let's pay our dues and help them keep the peace.
