Who’s Hulegu?: How to Stop the Invasion of Iran

On February 10, 1258, Baghdad fell to Mongol armies led by Genghis Khan’s grandson, Hulegu. Hulegu’s conquest led to a very long period of cultural, political and economic decline in Iraq. It would be good if the left stopped thinking that we’re doing the same thing. We’re doing much worse, of course, to Iraq. And to the whole world.

Word has it that Iran’s next. What to do?

How about laughing out loud at the ridiculous demonstration being planned for March 19th? How about planting something aside from seeds? And if you’re not inclined to be violent, how about following Hulegu’s plan? Who’s Hulegu?

Ran into a high school student just the other day with the same name as Genghis Khan’s grandson. What serendipity! He had heard how much I love Majid Majidi’s films, and he knew how full of angst I was respecting the anticipated bombing and/or sanctions. So...he just let me in on what he planned to do about the upcoming abominations.

Thought I’d share it all with you. As the stuff done in the past hasn’t done in The Powers plans, I didn’t see how any harm could come by divulging Hulegu’s scheme. After all, it’s not as if making it public would enable anyone to stop anything.

I mean...I might personally be ruined...taken from my family...and thrown into Torture Central, but like so many of my relatives told me so many times so long ago...I’m not important.

Seems as if Hulegu fancies that he’s going to be able to spread the word really fast to all the other high school students in the nation, the sensitive ones, that is. Get them, by simple word-of-mouth, to close all of the high schools on a regular basis...without resorting to fake bomb threats! How? All Hulegu would say is that if there’s one thing kids know how to do, especially these days, it’s how to close a high school. Gotta agree with ’em there, yes?

Seems as if they’re shooting for starting the whole shebang on March 18th, the (Fri)day before International A.N.S.W.E.R.’s scheduled fiasco for the 19th. Even though Hulegu’s friends detest the fact that the organization chose the administration’s invasion date as their date —passing over the people’s great symbolic marker on Feburary 15th— it occured to everyone that a momentum would be building...making the Friday Before as good as any for a point of departure. And besides, it could all be linked to Iraq.

Hulegu, who claims to actually be a descendant of Genghis Khan, said that he and his buddies had even gone so far as to make a list of objections they anticipated...expected to be forthcoming from the left. I make you privy to them here:

1. You can’t interfere with children’s education.

2. It’s encouraging anarchy.

3. It’ll never work; 51% of a given student body’ll never go for it.

4. It’ll backfire.

5. Some kids will get caught, and reprisals will be stiff.

6. It’s UnAmerican. And kids would miss out on those daily salutes to the flag.

7. We might not invade Iran or impose sanctions.

8. We should be stopping the war in Iraq first.

9. The plan is lacking in details.

10. There are other, better ways to voice one’s opposition.

And so on. I particularly like that last one. It reminds me of my present landlady whose rental we have to suddenly vacate because of a recent discovery of mold throughout the house. In one of her trying-to-save-her-butt missives she said, "I know you are not happy with the current rental situation." The italics are mine. My response included pointing out that it was a poor choice of words. That, in fact, I was "disgusted and frightened."

I am not "opposed" to the invasion of Iran or the imposition of sanctions on yet another country.

I am...something else. Which begs the questions: Who are you? What will you do?