Sir, – “He made his appearance in the world in much the same way as a lunatic enters a house and sets to work to break up the furniture. If a piece of furniture is strong, he leaves it alone. If it cracks, he keeps on until it is smashed up. Wherever a weakness has shown itself, he has punished it without scruple or pardon. He is the Attila of our civilisation.”
Could this be Keith Duggan on Donald Trump’s presidency? No, it is Denis de Rougemont (one of the finest critics of modern European culture) on Adolf Hitler in his 1945 book, La Part du Diable.
Rougemont continued presciently (but in relation to Hitler’s annexation of the Sudetenland): “It is not the overrunning of a small country that is diabolical: that is done at all periods and arises from normal egoism, or thirst for riches, or commonplace imperialism. What is diabolical is to call it ‘consolidating the peace’.”
Not only do these words point towards the US president’s abduction of his counterpart in Venezuela, or his bombing of Iran, but to the “thirst for riches” implicit in Trump’s interest in the rare minerals in Ukraine and Greenland.
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And they resound in the acoustic in which, in his inaugural presidential speech, Trump announced: “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.”
Trump was described by Maureen O’Dowd (in this newspaper) as “an anarchic toddler”. I blame the parents. – Yours, etc,
RICHARD PINE,
Corfu,
Greece.
Sir, – Not only is Operation Epic Fury in the Middle East illegal under international law, the military offensive against Iran continues to spread political unrest in the region, while playing havoc with the world economy and exacerbating the hostilities in Ukraine and Palestine.
True to form, US president Donald Trump thrives on being economical with the truth as he plays to the markets. The midterm elections in the US can’t come soon enough. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL CULLEN,
Sandycove,
Co Dublin.
