I’m a big movie buff, so forgive me for the title which alludes to one of my favorite films, Excalibur, the retelling of the Arthurian legend by the renowned British director, John Boorman.
That movie begins with Merlin giving the sword of power, Excalibur, to Uther Pendragon, the man who would be King of all England, while he and his knights are engaged in combat with the Duke of Cornwall. The mere showing of Excalibur to the assembled warriors, leads to a truce in which the Duke accepts Uther as King, and invites him to a feast that evening at Cornwall’s castle.
At the feast, Uther falls madly in love (or at least lust) with the Duke’s wife, Ygraine, while she dances for the assembled company. The next day, Uther breaks the truce and besieges Cornwall’s castle. The Duke is lured out to fight Uther’s men (where he is killed in an ambush), while Uther, with some magical assistance from Merlin, is transformed into the semblance of the Duke, as a disguise to fool Ygraine. As Cornwall dies, Uther impregnates the unsuspecting Yrgraine with the child who will become Uther’s son and the future King Arthur. The next morning Uther assumes control of Duke Cornwall’s castle and makes Ygraine his wife
Nine months go by, and Arthur is born. Uther promises Ygraine he will turn over a new leaf, as it were, and devote himself solely to her and her son. At this moment Merlin returns to claim Arthur, the price Uther agreed upon to obtain Merlin’s assistance in his wife stealing venture. This leads to a memorable confrontation in which Uther discovers, too late, that he is a false King, after all:
Uther Pendragon: To kill and be king, is that all?
Merlin: Perhaps not even that.
Uther Pendragon: You strike me with words hard as steel!
Merlin: You betrayed the Duke. You stole his wife. You took his castle. Now no one trusts you.
Merlin then takes Baby Arthur from the castle, and when Uther attempts to pursue them, he is ambushed by his enemies. With his dying words (“No-one shall wield Excalibur but me!”) Uther drives Excalibur into a large stone.
As I recalled this scene from the film this morning, I couldn’t help but be struck by the similarities between Uther’s situation, and that of another man who would be King, a man who used guile and deceit to acheive his “throne” and then manipulated his people into taking actions that we had long thought we, as a Nation, were incapable of. Of course, I was thinking of George W. Bush, and the situation he finds himself in these days, as the price for his lies and deceits comes due.
Yes, like Uther, King George was given a mighty weapon: The Weapon of Fear and Revenge that he that he found in the rubble of the catastrophe that was 9/11. Literally, while standing atop the ashes of those men and women who had incurred the cost of his administration’s negligence and incompetence on failing to protect them, he drew that weapon from its sheath and has been using it ever since.
He used that weapon to take America into a war Iraq that need not have been fought, against an enemy who had not, and could not harm us, while neglecting the pursuit of the enemy who had. Whenever anyone doubted the wisdom of that action, he merely had to remind them of the events of 9/11, and like a magical talisman all opposition was silenced.
He used that weapon to turn us into a country that no longer abides by international law, nor with our own high standards of morality. With that weapon he has made our nation into the equivalent of a band of barbarians who attack whom they will, and take what they want, and offer up any excuse to justify their murderous violence.
WMD! Mushroom clouds! Fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them over here! You can’t always play by the rules when a terrorist could have a ticking bomb ready to kill us! These were the words he used to galvanize popular support for aggressive war, and for the torture and indefinite detention of prisoners caught up in our nets.
Of course, he told other lies about how we were also bringing freedom and democracy to the Iraqis. And who could oppose such magnificent ideals with mere nitpicking about torture, or free fire zones or the destruction of whole cities? After all, when your house is on fire, you don’t stop the fireman from using his ax to break down your door, do you?
But now the extent of what he accomplished, and what we are responsible for, is becoming known. Not only “abuse” by our own troops, but truly fiendish tortures by the very “democratic government” we installed to replace Saddam:
British-trained police operating in Basra have tortured at least two civilians to death with electric drills, The Independent on Sunday can reveal.
John Reid, the Secretary of State for Defence, admits that he knows of “alleged deaths in custody” and other “serious prisoner abuse” at al-Jamiyat police station, which was reopened by Britain after the war.
Militia-dominated police, who were recruited by Britain, are believed to have tortured at least two men to death in the station. Their bodies were later found with drill holes to their arms, legs and skulls.
The victims were suspected of collaborating with coalition forces, according to intelligence reports. Despite being pressed “very hard” by Britain, however, the Iraqi authorities in Basra are failing to even investigate incidents of torture and murder by police, ministers admit.The disclosure drags Britain firmly into the growing scandal of officially condoned killings, torture and disappearances in Iraq.
And we have learned of the use by our troops of white phosphorus munitions and “napalm-like” bombs against civilian populations, weapons that literally melt the skin of their victims:
The move by the Iraqi government . . . follows the Pentagon’s confirmation to The Independent earlier this week that WP had been used during the battle of Fallujah last November and the presentation of persuasive evidence that civilians had been among the victims. . . .
The battle of Fallujah, an insurgent stronghold, took place over two weeks last November. It led to the displacement of 300,000 people. Reports from refugee camps and from an Iraqi doctor who stayed in the city during the fighting suggest numerous civilians suffered burns and “melting skin.” Photographs show rows of bodies charred almost beyond recognition.
Nor is this the extent of recent revelations. Let’s not forget the outing of Valerie Plame, and the destruction of one of the CIA’s covert espionage operations working to forestall nuclear proliferation. Let’s not forget the heartless and corrupt response to the tragedies of hurricane Katrina and Rita. Let’s not forget the looming breakdown of our Army and National Guard forces as the result of their continuous deployment in the Middle East.
Indeed, let’s not forget our returning veterans and those who will never return from this war. And eve beyond those who died ,beyond those who suffered physical wounds, how many are coming home with psyches that have been damaged or destroyed? How many in the coming years will suffer from conditions caused by their exposure to toxic metals and chemicals as a result of their deployment in Iraq? We will be counting the victims of Bush’s folly for years to come.
In response, Mr. Bush continues to wave his fearful words in our faces: Terrorists! 9/11! But as more and more evidence of these atrocities (and yes, call them what they are: atrocities) are exposed, we can see for ourselves the extent to which our reputation as a Nation, and our morals, have been degraded by the policies of this President’s foul administration.
Which brings me back, in a roundabout way, to Excalibur. In the movie, Arthur uses Excalibur wrongly to help him defeat Lancelot in a personal duel that he could not have otherwise won. As he strikes the blow, Excalibur shatters; the blade that could not be broken is broken. As Arthur himself says at that moment:
My pride broke it. My rage broke it!
Just so, the power of the President’s weapon has now been broken. The calamity of 9/11, that could have and should have been used to unite all Americans, has been fractured beyond repair by the hubris of George Bush. His own lies, his own vainglory have destroyed it.
Truly, Mr. Bush, now no one trusts you.
