March 19, 2003
From the desk of Jane Galt:Cry havoc. . .
It looks like today is the day. The first shots have been fired, and thankfully, the surrenders have begun, sparing some Iraqis from a senseless death in the name of a dying regime.
Longtime readers know that I support this war. But I'm not glad that it has come to this, and my first and last hope is that it will end quickly, with few deaths on either side.
I think that Edna St. Vincent Millay's Prayer for an Invading Army fits the day perfectly:
O Thou, Thou Prince of Peace, this is a prayer for War!
Yet not a war of man against his fellowman.
Say, rather, Lord, we do beseech
Thy guidance and Thy help:
In exorcising from the mind of Man, where she has made her nest,
a hideous and most fertile beast
and this to bring about with all dispatch, for look, where
even now she would lie down again to whelp!Lord God of Hosts! Thou Lord of Hosts not only, not alone
of battling armies Lord and King;
but of the child-like heart as well, which longs
to put away oh, not the childish, but the adult
circuitous and adroit, antique and violent thing
called War;
and sing
the beauties of this late-to-come but oh-so-lovely Spring!
For see
where our young men go forth in mighty numbers, to set free
from torture and from jeopardy
things that are deat to Thee.Keep in Thy loving care, we pray, those of our fighting men
whose happy fortune it may be to come back home again
after the War is over; and all those who must perforce remain,
the mourned, the valiant slain.
This we beseech Thee, Lord. And now, before
we rise from kneeling, one thing more:
Soften our hard and angry hearts; make us ashamed
of doing what we do, beneath Thy very eyes, knowing it does
displease Thee.
Make us more humble, Lord, for we are proud
without sufficient reason; let our necks be bowed
more often to Thy will;
for well we know what deeds find favour in Thy sight; and still
we do not do them.Oh Lord, all through the night, all through the day,
keep watch over our brave and dear, so far away.
Make us more worthy of
their valour; and Thy love.Let them come home! Oh let the battle, Lord, be brief,
and let our boys come home!
So cries the heart, sick for relief
from its anxiety, and seeking to forestall
a greater grief.So cries the heart aloud. But the thoughtful mind
has something of its own to say:
On that day
when they come home from very far away
and further than you think
(for each of them has stood upon the very brink
or sat and waited in the anteroom
of Death, expecting every moment to be called by name)Now look to this matter well: that they
upon returning shall not find
seated at their own tables, - at the head,
perhaps, of the long festive board prinked out in prodigal array,
the very monster which they sallied forth to conquer and to quell;
and left behind for dead.Let us forget such words, and all they mean,
as Hatred, Bitterness and Rancor, Greed,
Intolerance, Bigotry; let us renew
our faith and pledge to Man, his right to be
Himself, and free.Say that the Victory is ours then say
and each man search his heart in true humility
Lord! Father! Who are we,
that we should wield so great a weapon for the rights
and rehabilitation of Thy creature Man?
Lo, from all corners of the Earth we ask
all great and noble to come forth converge
upon this errand and this task with generous and gigantic plan:Hold high this Torch, who will.
Lift up this Sword, who can!
To their boys and ours alike: safe home.
Posted by Jane Galt at March 19, 2003 3:35 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound links"); ?>
It's the Mother of All Surrenders:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1-616542,00.html
-----------quote-----------
Masses of Iraqi soldiers are deserting and senior members of President
Saddam Hussein's ruling family circle are defecting as the countdown to a
British and US invasion reaches its final hours.
In northern Iraq, on the border with Kurdistan, up to three-quarters of some
Iraqi regiments have already fled.
In the mainly Shia Muslim south, Kuwaiti border guards are having to turn
Iraqi soldiers back - telling them that they must wait until an attack
begins before they can surrender.
And in a highly significant development in Baghdad a half-brother of
President Saddam, who is regarded as the dictator's closest adviser, has
fled in the past week to Syria.
[snip]
"We are looking at wholesale desertions in some areas," said an intelligence
officer.
"In the southern area, where there are six Iraqi divisions, fifty per cent
of their officers are planning to surrender once the campaign opens.
[snip]
Relying on human intelligence - British and US special forces already within
Iraq who are observing Iraqi military movements as well as establishing
contacts - and covert aerial surveillance, it is estimated that 73 per cent
of the regular Iraqi army in the south of the country has already made up
its mind to surrender to British and US troops.
In one dramatic example, the reports note that a US "psy ops" -
psychological operation - unit dropped leaflets on Iraq's 51st Mechanised
Division on March 9 and March 10.
Four days later, 20 per cent of the division had deserted and was no longer
in the area. "Many of those who have already gone are reporting that the
rest are preparing to surrender," said an intelligence officer.
In northern Iraq between 43 and 75 per cent of regular soldiers, depending
upon their regiment, have already fled. Iraqi tribal leaders in the region
have also abandoned Saddam and defected to the Kurds in the Northern No-Fly
Zone.
---------endquote------------
That's a good one alright. I especially like the allusion to 1 Cor. 13:11 in the second stanza.
Posted by: Ed on March 19, 2003 7:01 PMBeautiful.
Yet not one for ornamented prayer, I hold awe and admiration for the brave men and women who will be singing this hymn.
Posted by: Michael Ubaldi on March 19, 2003 8:55 PM
The battle to liberate Iraq has begun. I offer these thoughts.
O God of battles
Give our men and women the courage to face this danger,
Confidence in the knowledge that they fight not to conquer, but to liberate the enslaved,
And comfort in the hour of their danger.
O God of Justice
Strike fear into the hearts of our enemies,
Show mercy to them if they flee,
But use us as the arm of your justice if they do not.
O God of Mercy
Protect the innocent as we advance.
Shelter them in the cleft of the rock,
So that they will be unharmed as the storm passes.
O God of Victory
Crown our arms with glory.
Let us bring down justice upon the guilty,
And liberty to the oppressed.
Yep, what all of you said. One irony I think we can all be thankful for is that the Iraqis learned all their tricks from the French. The Maginot lines around Baghdad come to mind... Let's hope they learned effective surrender techniques as well.
Posted by: Brad Hutchings on March 20, 2003 1:26 AMWhile I share the basic sentiments
you express,
I now understand Edmund Wilson's reaction to Millay's poetry of this type.
There's a good - and polite and clean - debate on the war over at Beltway Bloggers. It's a good, serious debate . . . . despite the fact that I'm a part of it. I recommend reading it (and commenting at the two debaters' blogs if you have ideas or input). Thanks.
-nikita
Posted by: nikita demosthenes on March 20, 2003 5:04 PMWhat wonderful verse.
While I disagree with you over the war, now that the balloon has gone up I share your simple but profound sentiment: "Safe home".
Now that we have reached a clash of arms I am urging all who joined with me in opposition to this war to put aside doubt and dissention...at least for now. When this conflict is over (I pray soon) we can again ask some tough questions.
But not now. It can wait.
Posted by: dblclutch on March 20, 2003 10:29 PMComments are Closed.