Dr. Jack Wheeler
August 23, 2021
In 1904, a five-word telegram ensured the overwhelming election of Teddy Roosevelt to the presidency:
“Perdicaris Alive or Rasuli Dead.”
An American and his son had been captured by a Moslem bandit chieftain in Morocco and demanded an enormous ransom. Teddy sent Navy warships, the Marines, and the telegram. Rasuli returned Perdicaris and his son unharmed, and all America reveled in Teddy’s heroism.
The history is a lot more complicated than that, but legendary enough for Hollywood to make a move about it, The Wind and the Lion in 1975 starring Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, John Huston and Brian Keith. Of course it’s Hollwoodized, but the actual history is enough to draw an eerie, albeit grotesque, parallel to the White House, American hostages, and Moslem bandits at this moment today.
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