The time when kings go off to war.
This short report in today's Guardian, reminds me of 2. Samuel 11.
The Guardian writes that George Bush is sending 3.200 extra US troops to Afghanistan for a spring offensive there. This is very similar to 2. Samuel 11:1 where it says: "In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army." (NIV)
I'm not saying that the troop escalation does not make military sense or that the solders are sent out, like Uriah, to die. Neither am I hinting that Bush (nudge nudge, wink, wink) is up to anything immoral as he gets up from his bed and walks around on the roof of the White House.
Rather it strikes me how matter of fact both stories are reported. I believe this is evidence of how Bush's war paradigm (i.e "I'm a war president!"), has lead to a normality of spring offensives, purges and surges. In short, a world where its the natural order of things for kings (and presidents) to go off to war in the spring time.
posted by Torsten Pedersen @ Friday, February 16, 2007
1 comments
1 Comments:
Torsten,
A-hem. Sorry, frog in my throat ;-) ;-)
It is my understanding that the kings went to war in the late spring only to avoid the muddy terrain following the winter and early spring rains, and to get the battling done before the oppressive heat of the summer.
You cracked me up about about Bush walking around on the roof of the White House. I thought I was gonna pass out, cause I could actually see him doing that. ROFL. Imagine him up there pacing back and forth yelling down at the Democrats, "I'm the decider!!! I'm the decider in chief!! It's spring, and it's time to go to war! Cause that what I done did just decided!"
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