Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Columnist Ruthe Deskin: History repeated in Iraq?

History can be a great teacher if there are pupils who have the wisdom to listen.

Is history repeating itself today?

A most revealing article on the turbulent history of Iran in the May issue of Smithsonian magazine would seem to prove the point.

In the year 1917, as his troops marched into Baghdad, Gen. Stanley Maude, commander of the British forces, proclaimed: "Our armies do not come into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators."

At the same time the London Times wrote in an editorial: "How much longer are valuable lives to be sacrificed in the vain endeavor to impose upon the Arab population an elaborate and expensive administration which they never asked for or do not want?"

This is the year 2003, and we are hearing the same sentiments.

The lessons we should be heeding today began when the League of Nations, in 1920, gave Great Britain a mandate to govern Iraq, following centuries of Ottoman rule.

History repeating itself? Read the Smithsonian article and judge for yourself.

Although officials proclaim the war in Iraq is over, relatives and friends of military men and women still in the battle zone know it is not so. Every day fatalities occur on both sides.

We have been fed so many rumors and so much false information it has become difficult to discern between true and false.

Perhaps the White House gang should have a special viewing of the movie, "Wag the Dog."

Ordinary people trying to solve extraordinary problems.

That could be a summation of the recently recessed session of the State Legislature.

There's too much of the two D's -- demand and deficit. At this point it would take a King Solomon to balance the equation.

There's an old adage about paying the piper. If we want better schools, highways, law enforcement, parks and perks, the piper must be paid.

When Gov. Kenny Guinn calls the Legislature back in special session, let the members adopt the policy of "something's got to give" and get on with the business of government. Politics, they say, is the art of the possible.

David Robinson has proven that life as a professional athlete can be conducted with dignity and grace.

It was fitting that he should leave on such a high note -- a valued team member and co-captain of the NBA champion basketball team, the San Antonio Spurs.

There really was a little dog that lived a bum's life on Fremont Street and chewed tobacco.

Allen Tooley and Mabel Enright have offered proof of what might be the only picture of Silver, the dog everybody loved. His penchant for chewing tobacco was kept alive by human friends who made sure he always had fresh chaw attached to his collar.

Blame it on growth.

When you depart this land for the great beyond, you will get 14 free lines of an obituary. Anything else must be cash on demand.

Small newspapers can still carry obits as news. But as the population increases and people die, the demand for space is overwhelming -- so they say.

A new department calls itself Obituary Advertising Desk.

It could be said, you pay as you go.

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