Mood:
don't askTopic: "The Perfect Storm" (2)
Saddam Hussein's appeal was denied today, thereby requiring under "Iraqi Law" that the death sentence be carried out within 30 days (January 25th).
George W. Bush will thrill the world with another "State of the Union" address on January 23rd.
George W. Bush has announced that he will decide, finally, his new and improved "stragedy" for the situation in Iraq "early in the New Year."
This confluence of events is not just ominous, it is life-threatening. The momentum that can swing events careening toward the precipice are all in motion at the same time, and even the Prince of Peace can offer little but a respite.
Frodo is standing, hands on hips, looking up at Mount Doom. Despite the best efforts of the Fellowship, and the determined assistance of Sam, there is the equivalent of a 100-foot wave bearing down on the Hobbits of Middle Earth. Countless brave men and women are in harm's way, facing assailants fore and aft, in the midst of an internecine struggle in a country that does not exist, and never has. The artificial borders neatly drawn on maps are subject to ethnic and religious entanglements which threaten to drown thousands in uncontrolled violence and bloodshed. No place is safe.
Not since the New Year of 1942 has there been an ominous moment that ensures little, if any, joy in the turning of the calendar. As the American military monthly death count in December races to exceed the record that belongs to October, Frodo looks at January with the anxious eyes of one who foresaw disaster from the first day. Frodo turns to Sam and says, "You ain't seen nothin' yet."
Would that Frodo, at long last, finally be proven incorrect. That is Frodo's prayer. Please join in.
