Last Resort
It struck me that the calm commitment on Colin's face was a lesson that should not be lost on George W. Bush and other politicians of today. However justified they might regard their military operations in other lands, those wars carry the heavy risk of creating martyrs and enflaming hatreds that could outlast any short-term objectives, just as Edward I's brutality against Scotland did.
That is one reason why leaders with deep historical perspective really do treat war as a last resort, rather than a casual means for achieving some geopolitical end.
Though William Wallace was undoubtedly a brutal man himself, Edward I's aggression against Scotland and his martyrdom of Wallace created a legacy that has haunted English-Scottish relations to the present day. As Colin made clear, Wallace's path of execution on Aug. 23, 1305, is becoming a kind of "stations of the cross" for Scottish independence.
Edward I may have viewed Wallace's torture and dismemberment as one sort of political warning to his enemies, but that atrocity has evolved into another type of cautionary tale for politicians of all eras - if you rely too readily on violence, it can have negative consequences that far outweigh its successes.
Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His new book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at
secrecyandprivilege.com. It's also available at
Amazon.com, as is his 1999 book, Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth.' His website is http://www.consortiumnews.com
Parry is one of the true journalistic heroes of 21st century America Rob Kall, Editor, OpEdNews
It struck me that the calm commitment on Colin's face was a lesson that should not be lost on George W. Bush and other politicians of today. However justified they might regard their military operations in other lands, those wars carry the heavy risk of creating martyrs and enflaming hatreds that could outlast any short-term objectives, just as Edward I's brutality against Scotland did.
That is one reason why leaders with deep historical perspective really do treat war as a last resort, rather than a casual means for achieving some geopolitical end.
Though William Wallace was undoubtedly a brutal man himself, Edward I's aggression against Scotland and his martyrdom of Wallace created a legacy that has haunted English-Scottish relations to the present day. As Colin made clear, Wallace's path of execution on Aug. 23, 1305, is becoming a kind of "stations of the cross" for Scottish independence.
Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His new book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at
secrecyandprivilege.com. It's also available at
Amazon.com, as is his 1999 book, Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth.' His website is http://www.consortiumnews.com
Parry is one of the true journalistic heroes of 21st century America Rob Kall, Editor, OpEdNews
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