Thursday, August 21, 2003

The more things change...

Despite my Master's in Defense & Strategic Studies, I really don't like war. Unlike many of the superhawks with whom I had the 'pleasure' of studying, I believe that while war is politics by other means, diplomacy is about achieving one's objectives without recourse to actual violence. In other words, a system of defense has failed when you actually need to fight.


Anyway, Matsuo Basho wrote a series of haiku about the 17th century wars of Japanese 'unity', and this one struck me as being particularly poignant:


The summer grasses
All that remains
Of brave soldiers dreams

-- Matsuo Basho

Mood: contemplative
Music: The Distillers - Gypsy Rose Lee

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