[IP] more on Yes, it CAN happen here. (Happening right now, in fact)
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Steven M. Bellovin" <smb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 30, 2006 11:36:46 AM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] more on Yes, it CAN happen here. (Happening right
now, in fact)
There's a fascinating OpEd piece by Robert Harris in today's NY Times on
a historical precedent : the ancient Roman republic.
IN the autumn of 68 B.C. the world?s only military superpower was
dealt a profound psychological blow by a daring terrorist attack
on its very heart. Rome?s port at Ostia was set on fire, the
onsular war fleet destroyed, and two prominent senators, together
with their bodyguards and staff, kidnapped.
The incident, dramatic though it was, has not attracted much
attention from modern historians. But history is mutable. An event
that was merely a footnote five years ago has now, in our
post-9/11 world, assumed a fresh and ominous significance. For in
the panicky aftermath of the attack, the Roman people made
decisions that set them on the path to the destruction of their
Constitution, their democracy and their liberty. One cannot help
wondering if history is repeating itself.
The essay, at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/30/opinion/30harris.html ,
is very much worth reading.
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