I was reading this the other night and think it worth adding as a comment to this article.

In her estimable book 'The Origins of Totalitarianism', Hanah Arendt discussing the topic of 'provocation' says -

"It appears , for example, that there was not a single anti-government action under the reign of Louis Napoleon which had not been inspired by the police itself. Similarly, the role of secret agents in all revolutionary parties in Czarist Russia strongly suggests that without their "inspiring" provocative actions the course of the Russian revolutionary movement would have been far less successful. Provocation, in other words, helped as much to maintain the continuity of tradition as it did to disrupt time and again the organisation of the revolution."

In a footnote Hannah continues -
"It seems, after all, no accident that the foundations of the Okrhrana in 1880 ushered in a period of unsurpassed revolutionary activities in Russia. In order to prove its usefulness, it had occasionally to organise murders, and its agents "served despite themselves the ideas of those whom they denounced...If a pamphlet was distributed by a police agent or if the execution of a minister was organised by an Azev - the result was the same" [gives citation]. The more important executions moreover seem to have been police jobs - Stolypin and von Plehve. Decisive for the revolutionary tradition was the fact that at times of calm the police agents had to "stir up anew the energies and stimulate zeal" of the revolutionaries".
Page 423 - section on 'Secret Police'.
joe90 | Homepage | 03.19.08 - 1:30 am | #

Ann Lewis, a top Clinton aide, said:
"The role of the presidents of the United States is to support decisions made by the people of Israel"

http://americangoy.blogspot.com/...ole-of- usa.html
mooser42001 | Homepage | 03.19.08 - 3:26 pm | #

Oh, Uncle! Mooser. I'm going to ask her a few questions before I give up entirely.
Mae | 03.23.08 - 5:43 am | #