Full Circle

Driving back from Alsace to Frankfurt Airport, we were surprised on the Autobahn, in the early morning fog, to be caught in the headlights of a C17 transport landing at Ramstein AFB, as we were passing the Landstuhl exit. Landstuhl is the US military hospital where US casualties from the war in Iraq are transported before repatriation to America.
I had the occasion to visit Landstuhl military hospital in the 70s, when my parents became godparents to Joe Pasco, our American relatives'son . Back then it was a short drive from home in France. We toured the area and noticed the WWII cemetery in town. In it were buried rows after rows of French soldiers who had died in the nearby POW camp.
60 years later, soldiers still suffer and die, in Landstuhl. Full circle....

I am still writing a biography of baron Georges-Felix de Wimpffen, who, besides having been the Governor of Thionville and having successfully defeated the Prussian siege of my hometown in 1792, had also been an officer in the army of General Rochambeau in Virginia, in 1781. As such, he fought valiantly at the battle of Yorktown. After the British surrender, he headed back to Mt Vernon for winter quarters. I happen to live less than 3 miles from Mt Vernon. Full circle..

(Note that at Yorktown, the Metz Artillery regiment and the Royal Deux-Ponts fought side by side with the Forbach regiment, all Lorraine soldiers! Rochambeau had 8,000 troops to Washington 3,5oo, and Lafayette 3,000 against Cornwallis'7,000 lobsterbacks. Admiral de Grasse's blockade of the Chesapeake prevented all British reinforcement .)

During my trip to France, early this month, I had the privilege of visiting Chief Pascal Moretti, a gendarme who created the Moselle River 1944 Association to honor the US veterans of the 95th and 90th Infantry Divisions who liberated the Thionville -Metzervisse area on November 11, 1944. Last year, for the 60th anniversary of a battle that cost Patton's 3rd army 40,000 casualties, he invited over 100 veterans. The celebrations were entirely paid for by 200,000 euros worth of donations from the grateful populations. Entire town populations lined up on roadsides, and wined and dined their erstwhile liberators, with many plaques and statues being inaugurated. Helen Patton, the general's granddaughter, came from nearby Saarbrucken where she now lives.I modestly contributed with some interpretation. Deep feelings of gratitude and friendship between our two nations were in evidence in spite of the ignorant propaganda fueled in some circles.
Dr Beakes, one of the veterans, holds a PhD from Ball State, my US alma mater!.. He was present at the Mairy tank battle on Sep. 9, 1944......My father was sent with a crew to repair the power line in that same village the next day. Dr Beakes lives a few miles from me. Full circle.

arthroscopy

Becky underwent arthtroscopy of her left shoulder successfully. She entered Inova Mt Vernon Hospital on Thursday and had a 2hrs operation to repair her right shoulder rotating cuff. The operation was cutting edge (no pun intended). Three small entry points, video, scalpel and instruments, were all the surgeon had to do to fix a 3 inch tear in her tendon and scrape a bone spur. the healing will take a lot less time. Now, hooked up to a cooling system, she is recovering rapidly and already feels no more tension in her neck.

Military

I have been working with the National Defense University for the past week. Besides the course itself, intended for high level African officers, the contact with the military is interesting. What possible interest can a thinking man derive from daily contacts with the military , you may ask? Is military philosophy to philosophy what military music is to music?
The answer is: plenty.
The officers I meet, retired and active duty, are all experienced individuals with in depth knowledge of the world. They have been posted in the far flung foxholes of the American Empire and many have a profound knowledge of their environment.
In the course of the last two days, we had the privilege of visiting parts of Quantico, the headquarters of the US Marine Corps. We had lectures from senior officers and senior NCO's, followed by Q&A with officers and NCO's. We heard the usual passwords about Honor, Duty, and Nation, with all their positive and negative connotations. But we generally faced very courageous people, many of whom have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, with highly sophisticated specializations, and , on the whole, very down to earth. I was not entirely surprised since I live in a neighborhood of Northern Virginia where most residents work for the 10 mile distant Pentagon.
During the various presentations, I could not help but think of Plato, who, in the Republic, carves a role in the City (polis), for the military , in charge of defending our lives and property.
Of course, my observations have not been linked to the current conflict in the Middle East, nor to the different policies of "preventive wars" or "total military supremacy" of the current administration. The officers and NCO's I met are the actors of a drama they have not written. Their acting has a bearing on the last acts of the play though.
On the last day we were given MRE's, an interesting culinary experience, and the opportumity to shoot diverse weapons (M16, F9) as well as walking through an obstacle course in the dark , equipped with night vision goggles.
The most interesing lecture I heard was about a new policy in the Corps, destined to equip the Marines with cultural knowledge, including languages, of a certain number of hot spot regions of the world, where they might find themselves going forward. The total ignorance of the Middle East and the naive idea that giving foreigners our culture was a great gift, are a great part of the trouble the US find themselves in the world today. But then again, the same ignorance cost them victory in Vietnam 30 years ago.
Next, I will jot down some reflections on Africa.

La France en hiver.

Je suis de retour aux USA après un séjour hivernal en France.
partout on me parle de politique, bien sûr. Les francais adorent les `petites phrases``. Pour eux, la politique se résume à une course à la présidence. De tous les candidats, la plus surprenante est sans conteste Ségoléne Royal. C' est la première fois qu'une femme a de sérieuses chances de succès, elle est en tête de la course, mais aussi, elle vit maritalement avec le chef du parti d'opposition, Francois Hollande, lui aussi candidat putatif.
Ombre au tableau, une émission trés populaire , les guignols, caricature férocement les personnages de l'État chaque soir. Les électeurs, peu curieux et friands de sarcasmes, lui prètent une touche de réalité qui dévalue fortement la démocratie. Tous pourris!
On m'a beaucoup parlé des émeutes des banlieues, toutes fraiches dans les mémoires. On sent un fort ressentiment à l`égard des populations immigrées non assimilées. Le Pen en fera ses choux gras, ou peut être monsieur Sarkozy qui pêche dans ses eaux tout en étant plus fréquentable....

A part cela, que la campagne Alsacienne est belle en hiver! Que les francais sont gentils, et qu`est-ce qu`on mange bien en France autour du 1er janvier.

Peace on Earth

I have had one of the best Christmas ever, with the family. A surfeit of food, a constant and roaring fire in the fireplace, and, of course, good cheer were all one needs to truly celebrate the solstice.
We even managed to squeeze in a play. We saw Scrooge at the Ford theater. Scrooge is a very apt commentary on society in these neo-dickensian days. I had the occasion to see "1984" last year onstage. Then and now these plays take an uncanny topical dimension when we are faced with official lies, deceit, and grifting.
Christmas in the US is truly a festival of consumerism of awsome dimension. Not that my European friends are far behind mind you. But one cannot help but think, confronted with this orgy of credit card olympics, what this civilization really stands for. Acquisition of material possession seems to trump all else. The spread of freedom and democracy, which no doubt is a genuine aspiration of most Americans, is belied by actions in the Middle East and at home.

But let us see the good side of things. Christmas is over and we don't have to listen to these endless carols until the day after Thanksgiving 2006!

Year end

Seems like the year is coming to an end. My garden has entered the dreaded "dead of winter". My garden fairy has frost on her head.
And yet, a battle royal is raging in Congress. Cheney had to come back from his favorite war theater to cut off funds dor the elderly, poor children, and education. He saved us 40 billion$ on the back of the poor. It is true that it will pay for about 3 months of the war in Iraq!

The Democrats are showing more spine and managed to block the extension of the Patriot Act because of the amendment mandating drilling at ANWR. I am always amused to see all those devout christians who have forgotten the Sermon on the Mount.....

Meanwhile, in France, it seems like the furor has died down in the suburbs. Time for foie gras, champagne and Restos du coeur. Or is it simmerimg and ready for another eruption weather permitting?

Bonhoeffer

Bien sûr, il ne faut pas se livrer à des exagérations. Néanmoins, l'Histoire nous donnes de précieuses indications sur les conséquences de certaines actions. Le peuple américain a la chance de se tourner vers l'avenir et de ne pas s'encombrer du passé. En même temps, cette ignorance systématique de l'Histoire, la leur et celles des autres peuples, risque de les conduire fatalement aux mêmes déboires.
Un tiers des personnes interrogées aux USA répondent qu'elles sont prêtes à perdre de leur liberté individuelle au profit de davantage de sécurité. Comme l'a dit un politicien, le risque dans ce cas de figure et de n'avoir ni l'une ni l'autre.
Le pasteur Dietrich Bonhoeffer, resistant sous Hitler, constatait que d'abord on s'en était pris aux juifs. Les non juifs ne se sentant pas concernés, n'ont pas réagi. Ensuite, on est venu arrêter les communistes. Le reste de la population n'a pas réagi, et ainsi de suite , jusqu'à ce qu'on vienne le chercher lui, et il n'y avait plus personne pour réagir.
J'ai pu parler à des allemands yant vécu en Allemagne nazie. La plupart étaient convaincus que les prisonniers et les déportés qu'ils voyaient tous les jours, étaient des nuisibles. Comment pourrait-il en être autrement, quand le pays était en guerre...
L'opposition démocrate reagit faiblement par calcul électoral. L'opinion publique reagit mollement par manque d'information, ou par conviction religieuse (30% d'intégristes). La presse pratique l'autocensure pour s'assurer les bonnes grâces du pouvoir. Pendant ce temps, les autorités juridiques couvrent les initiatives de Bush: les USA deviennent un pays où la torture est autorisée, les prisonniers sont déportés, certains meurent pendant l'interrogation, l'opposition est ridiculisée, les circonscriptions électorales, sont trafiquées, les deux dernières élections présidentielles sont entachées d'irrégularités......
Tout cela au nom du petit Jésus!
Maintenant on espionne légalement les citoyens , l'opposition et la presse.

Petite trouvaille: Truman, à qui on avait proposé une guerre préventive a répondu: ``The only thing a preventive war can prevent, is peace.``
A suivre