“Rome and the contado were one and the same.” Anyone familiar with Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy will appreciate how powerfully the philosopher and servant of the Florentine state connects republican virtue with the citizen army.
And here is a modern historian and in the service of his state writing of his own call to arms:
Last night, I received an emergency IDF call-up order — via SMS. Israel, 2009. Gone are the days when such commands were hand-delivered or broadcast in code over the radio… Today we travel to our bases individually, often by cab. Yet the result is the same: The citizen army of Israel has been summoned and is heading to war.
And yet Michael Oren is being called upon to practise the arts of realpolitik more associated with Machiavelli’s Prince:
I am far beyond reserve age … but have remained in the ranks because of my familiarity with the foreign press. Though I’ll soon be signing off on a weapon and body armor, more efficaciously, I’ll check out the maps, photographs, and statistic charts designed to reinforce Israel’s case in the media.
Such accoutrements can be as crucial as any tank on today’s battlefield, where victory may hinge as much on individual valor as on a collective image on TV. And, with all due deference to Hamas’s fighters, journalists often pose a more formidable challenge.
A willingness to die for ones country does not necessarily mean a willingness to lie for it. But soldiers — even reservists — might at least be expected to identify themselves during conflicts:
In Gaza, the real enemy is Iran — Los Angeles Times
President-elect Barack Obama has declared his intention to confront Iran through diplomacy. Ideally, that process should begin in the aftermath of an Iranian defeat. If Israel is allowed to achieve its goals in Gaza, the Obama administration will be better poised to achieve its goals in Iran.
The confusing roles of citizen, soldier, historian and spokesman make Oren an erudite advocate, yet he is often represented as an analyst. Perhaps there are places where you can be both, but not in wars.
After all, before he even got his PhD in Middle Eastern History, wasn’t a young spokesman for the Israeli Authority on the West Bank found talking to the New York Times in these terms:
”We’re conducting a political war against the P.L.O.,” said Michael Oren, spokesman for the Israeli administrative authority on the West Bank. ”The army is conducting a military war. We’re conducting a political war.”
That was back in July 1982. Oren is still fighting those political wars over a quarter of a century later…
++FURTHER READING++
War 2.0: The 24/7 English news channel front
War 2.0: ‘Neutral’ observers, Blogs and SMS alerts
War 2.0: Israel’s post-journalism campaign in Gaza
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