October 13 The Knights Templars Arrested (1307): It was on this date, October 13, 1307 — and presumably on a Friday — that King Philip IV ("the Fair") of France arrested all of the Templar Knights. The religious order had been the subject of rumors of blasphemy and irreligious practices, but in fact the Knights of the Temple of Solomon or (from their logo) the Red Cross Knights, were "just brutal, pious, simple-minded men," who became wealthy and corrupt as soon as the Church showered blessings and money on the order. The Templars were formed after the First Crusade as a body of knights charged with prosecuting the crusades, and with living morally upright lives in the service of their church. So unpopular was that second qualification in the Middle Ages that the core of the Templars was only nine knights. The number slowly increased until, in 1128, they were incorporated as a monastic order with the usual three vows. By 1200, they were so rich and loose in morals that a contemporary jibe for heavy drinking was "He drinks like a Templar." Their wealth increased through the same ruse the Jews used to circumvent the Church law against lending money at interest — the original meaning of usury. The party only came to an end when the Templars became so corrupt and so powerful that Philip, at the urging of Pope Clement V, had to extinguish them. The leaders were tortured into confessing impiety and sodomy in their houses and, although the method is not conducive to extracting truth, it is clear that the practices were rampant. The methods were standard: "The feet of the accused were oiled and fired, splinters were driven under their toe- and finger-nails, weights were tied to their genital organs, and so on," says McCabe. "Some underwent torture six or seven times. A large number, including the Grand Master [Jacques DeMolay] and three other leading Masters, confessed and were burned alive."*
The popular legend that the end of the Templars took place on a Friday the 13th, and that that is the origin of the bad luck associated with the day, is just as fabulous as that it arose from the 13 Christian apostles (including the traitor Judas) at the Last Supper. The legend of Loki crashing a banquet of 12 Norse revelers in Valhalla was another, later, turn on the fable. But although there are some references to Friday being unlucky in Geoffrey Chaucer's time (14th century: "And on a Friday fell all this mischance"), there appears to be no reliable reference to the unluckiness of Friday the 13th before the 1800s. In the Gregorian calendar, the 13th is slightly more likely to fall on a Friday than on any other day of the week, and any month beginning on a Sunday will have a Friday the 13th, but rational thinkers ignore the superstition. Still, Paraskevidekatriaphobia, or fear of Friday the 13th, seems common enough to be the reason many people will skip work, refuse to travel, and not start anything new on that day — and why some buildings have no 13th floor and Room 13 often disappears. Is there something to the superstition? We might remember the troubles in 1970 during the flight of Apollo 13. But Friday the 13th is considered unlucky only in Western, Christian-dominated cultures: there is no such superstition in Asia or the Islamic world. The superstition can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, people will engage in what logicians call "confirmation bias" when bad things happen on a day you already believe is bad. When Philip the Fair decided to arrest and torture and burn the Templars on this day in 1307, he had back of him no tradition of bad luck or good luck associated with the 13th day of the month — but it was unfortunate for about one hundred Christians! * Joseph McCabe, A Rationalist Encyclopædia, 1948. Want to comment on this essay? Send me an e-mail! |
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The Road Home
It is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit.
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Like many Americans, we have put off that conclusion, waiting for a sign that President Bush was seriously trying to dig the United States out of the disaster he created by invading Iraq without sufficient cause, in the face of global opposition, and without a plan to stabilize the country afterward.
At first, we believed that after destroying Iraq’s government, army, police and economic structures, the United States was obliged to try to accomplish some of the goals Mr. Bush claimed to be pursuing, chiefly building a stable, unified Iraq. When it became clear that the president had neither the vision nor the means to do that, we argued against setting a withdrawal date while there was still some chance to mitigate the chaos that would most likely follow.
While Mr. Bush scorns deadlines, he kept promising breakthroughs — after elections, after a constitution, after sending in thousands more troops. But those milestones came and went without any progress toward a stable, democratic Iraq or a path for withdrawal. It is frighteningly clear that Mr. Bush’s plan is to stay the course as long as he is president and dump the mess on his successor. Whatever his cause was, it is lost.
The political leaders Washington has backed are incapable of putting national interests ahead of sectarian score settling. The security forces Washington has trained behave more like partisan militias. Additional military forces poured into the Baghdad region have failed to change anything.
Continuing to sacrifice the lives and limbs of American soldiers is wrong. The war is sapping the strength of the nation’s alliances and its military forces. It is a dangerous diversion from the life-and-death struggle against terrorists. It is an increasing burden on American taxpayers, and it is a betrayal of a world that needs the wise application of American power and principles.
A majority of Americans reached these conclusions months ago. Even in politically polarized Washington, positions on the war no longer divide entirely on party lines. When Congress returns this week, extricating American troops from the war should be at the top of its agenda.
That conversation must be candid and focused. Americans must be clear that Iraq, and the region around it, could be even bloodier and more chaotic after Americans leave. There could be reprisals against those who worked with American forces, further ethnic cleansing, even genocide. Potentially destabilizing refugee flows could hit Jordan and Syria. Iran and Turkey could be tempted to make power grabs. Perhaps most important, the invasion has created a new stronghold from which terrorist activity could proliferate.
The administration, the Democratic-controlled Congress, the United Nations and America’s allies must try to mitigate those outcomes — and they may fail. But Americans must be equally honest about the fact that keeping troops in Iraq will only make things worse. The nation needs a serious discussion, now, about how to accomplish a withdrawal and meet some of the big challenges that will arise.
The Mechanics of Withdrawal
The United States has about 160,000 troops and millions of tons of military gear inside Iraq. Getting that force out safely will be a formidable challenge. The main road south to Kuwait is notoriously vulnerable to roadside bomb attacks. Soldiers, weapons and vehicles will need to be deployed to secure bases while airlift and sealift operations are organized. Withdrawal routes will have to be guarded. The exit must be everything the invasion was not: based on reality and backed by adequate resources.
The United States should explore using Kurdish territory in the north of Iraq as a secure staging area. Being able to use bases and ports in Turkey would also make withdrawal faster and safer. Turkey has been an inconsistent ally in this war, but like other nations, it should realize that shouldering part of the burden of the aftermath is in its own interest.
Accomplishing all of this in less than six months is probably unrealistic. The political decision should be made, and the target date set, now.
The Fight Against Terrorists
Despite President Bush’s repeated claims, Al Qaeda had no significant foothold in Iraq before the invasion, which gave it new base camps, new recruits and new prestige.
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