From an historical perspective, we started this misventure with a highly publicized **PRO-CONSUL**, and we are headed to the end with a ** PETRAEUS ** boiling down to a remake of the History of the Roman Empire (no copyrights paid to Rome...???) including the geographic area.

These expert in communication (below standards copy-catters, dear Mr. Rove & Co Doctrine Cheerleaders)have a fascination with the Roman Empire, an autocratic form of government: in our case, a mix between autocracy and oligarchy for reason of necessity: the autocracy party is incompetent and short on almost everything a Ruler should possess.

Way back then, the population had it enough with the squandering of lives and resources: the end of the Roman Empire is traditionally, if not strictly accurately, placed at 4 September AD 476, when the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Romulus Augustus, was deposed and not replaced.

The parallel is getting interesting now:

Under a purely legal and technical point of view, there is no clear first emperor, as the title itself was not an official post in the Roman constitutional system—rather, it was an amalgam of separate roles.

Julius Caesar was a ** Dictator Perpetuus ** ("dictator for life"), which was a highly irregular form of dictator, an official position in the Roman republic.

By law, the rule of a dictator would normally never exceed 6 months.

The form created by Caesar was therefore quite contrary to the basic principles of the Roman Republic. (Republic (us) = Res Publica)(see footnote 1)

Several senators, among them many former enemies who had been "graciously" pardoned by him, grew fearful that he would crown himself and try to establish a monarchy.

Accordingly, they conspired to assassinate him, and on the Ides of March, 44 BC, the life-long dictator perished under the blades of his assassins.

The troubles began in 235, when the emperor Alexander Severus was murdered by soldiers at the age of 27 after Roman legions were defeated in a campaign against Sassanid Persia. (see footnote 2)

As general after general squabbled over control of the empire, the frontiers were neglected and subjected to frequent raids by Carpians, Goths, Vincente Fox Policies, Vandals, and Alamanni, as well as attacks from Sassanids in the east.

The Roman legions, which had reached an unprecedented number (around fifty) because of the civil wars, were reduced to twenty-eight. Several legions, particularly those with members of doubtful loyalties, were simply disbanded.

Other legions were amalgamated, a fact hinted by the title Gemina ("Twin").[5] Augustus also created nine special cohorts, ostensibly to maintain the peace in Italy, keeping at least three of them stationed at Rome.

These cohorts became known as the *** Praetorian Guard ***

And on and on and on.....that's where we are, few thousand years after and wondering and wondering

***footnote 1)

Res publica usually refers to a thing that is not considered to be private property, but which is rather held in common by many people.

For instance a park or garden in the city of Rome could either be "private property", or managed by the state, in which case it would be (part of the) res publica.

***footnote 2)

The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty (Persian: ساسانیان [sɒsɒnijɒn]) is the name used for the fourth Iranian dynasty, and the second Persian Empire (226–651).

The Sassanid dynasty was founded by Ardashir I after defeating the last Parthian (Arsacid) king, Artabanus IV (Persian: اردوان Ardavan) and ended when the last Sassanid Shahanshah (King of Kings), Yazdegerd III (632–651), lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the early Islamic Caliphate, the first of the Islamic empires.

The empire's territory encompassed all of today's Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, eastern parts of Turkey, and parts of India, Syria, Pakistan, Caucasia, Central Asia and Arabia.

During Khosrau II's rule in 590–628 Egypt, Jordan, Palestine/Israel, Lebanon were also briefly annexed to the Empire.

The Sassanids called their empire Ērānšahr "Dominion of the Iranians".

The Sassanid era, encompassing the length of the Late Antiquity period, is considered to be one of the most important and influential historical periods in Iran.

In many ways the Sassanid period witnessed the highest achievement of Persian civilization, and constituted the last great Iranian Empire before the Muslim conquest and adoption of Islam

Persia influenced Roman civilization considerably during the Sassanids' times,[1] and the Romans reserved for the Sassanid Persians alone the status of equals, exemplified in the letters written by the Roman Emperor to the Persian Shahanshah, which were addressed to "my brother."

Their cultural influence extended far beyond the empire's territorial borders, reaching as far as Western Europe,[2] Africa,[3] China and India[4] and played a prominent role in the formation of both European and Asiatic medieval art.[5]

This influence carried forward to the early Islamic world.

The dynasty's unique and aristocratic culture transformed the Islamic conquest of Iran into a Persian Renaissance.[6]

Much of what later became known as Islamic culture, architecture, writing and other skills, were taken mainly from the Sassanid Persians into the broader Muslim world.[7]

For instance, Afghanistan's official language, which is the Dari dialect of Persian, evolved from the royal language of the Sassanids.[8]

Hey i have an idea! Why doesn't soemone get a gun abd arrest Bush? After all isn't that the entire basis fo this problem tat a bunch of lunatics have taken over the asylum? Well if they smell like shit, look like shit and feel like shit then they must be SHIT! Impeach! IMPEACH NOW!!! Or be forever damned as coards and traitors! Are you listening Mrs Pelosi????

Hey I have an idea! Why doesn't soemone get a gun abd arrest Bush? After all isn't that the entire basis for this problem? A bunch of lunatics have taken over the asylum! Well if they smell like shit, look like shit and feel like shit then they must be SHIT! Impeach! IMPEACH NOW!!! Or be forever damned as coards and traitors! Are you listening Mrs Pelosi????

I really liked Anonymous's analysis of the current American administration and its parallels with Rome. However I would like to enter this debate with the idea that this regime is far closer in its intent and ideology and the way it pursues them to the Nazis. The parallels are even more stark. The Nazis burnt down the Reichstag as a precursor to their burning down Europe and this single action enabled Hitler to rise to autocratic power as Dictator of Germany. Bush and company are doing the same with the Twin Towers being their Reichstag and their whitlling away at the United States constituition being similar to Hitler's methodical watering down of the rights of the German people under the Weimar Republic. In each case the population stood idly by to watch these FASCISTS ascend to power under the guise of making them more secure and safe from outside attack. I would suggest that the only people attacking America have been those on the inside parading as homeland securers. In fact they are busily turning your homeland into a jail and your freedoms into pulp. Dictatorships have as their modus operandi the untrammeled surveillance of their citizens, a leader who places himself and his cohorts above the law, a reckless pursuit of grandiose agendas which usually end up in a pile of smoke and rubble, just like the last Reich did and how no doubt the Fourth reich under Fuhrer Bush and his successor will, given the expanse of enemies they so casually invite to "bring it on". No doubt, that one sentence meant more to Americas enemies than anything else this imbecile for a president has uttered as it gives them impetous to attack and a real need to prove that the behemoth of the new empire will like all others come down into a crumbling heap. However I would be more carful of the enemy within than the ones without if I were you America. Public enemy number one sits at the desk in the Oval Office signing your freedoms and rights away whilst murderimng innocents and destroying your social capital. This and the belief in omnipotence are the hallmarks of FASCIST regimes thorughout time. This one is no different to any of the others of the past.