Over 3,100 years ago, the Greeks pretended to sail home defeated by the Trojans. Apparently, they had left a huge wooden horse at the city gates as a parting gift for the Gods. The Trojans were euphoric that the Greeks had finally relented and given up their ten-year assault on Troy. After the Trojans brought the horse inside the city gates and fell asleep that night, the Greeks quietly crawled out from inside the horse to open the gates for their awaiting army. They then destroyed Troy and burned it to the ground, hence the expression: ‘Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.”
This ancient smoke screen may very well be being rekindled today with the State Department’s recent agreement to talk with Iran.
Since the January 2002 declaration of Iran as part of the ‘Axis of Evil,” the neocons in Washington, led by Vice President Cheney, have been working vehemently on finding an excuse to attack Iran.
If the White House can give the impression of trying to iron out their differences with Iran, they can claim the moral high ground should any military confrontation arise. It would take the blame off them if they should secretly instigate a provocation: ‘How could we have started it? We were trying to resolve our issues peacefully when Iran sparked the war!’
The same group used a similar tactic as part of their psychological operations against the American people and Congress prior to invading Iraq. They used the guise of diplomacy when going before the United Nations in the months before the invasion to appear to be the peaceful ones in the standoff. They blamed the breakdown of diplomacy on Saddam and have continually used it as part of their excuse for invading Iraq.
The Iranians might not only want to look this gift horse in the mouth, but shoo it away before it betrays them.
It’s not a coincidence that the Trojan Horse is on the regimental crest of the U.S. Army’s Psychological Operations Unit.