Thus The New York Times today. “Most of the political changes that fueled the fight of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, or led to his promotion, were born directly from some American action,” elaborates the newspaper. But of course. How could it be otherwise? If there is anything of interest in this discovery, it is the amount of time it has taken to be reached. As the two Bush administrations created the current reaction, we are talking about twenty-five years. Returning to action and reaction, this is what Peter Heather, a student of Rome’s decline and fall of some renown, has called a Newtonian third law of empires (“A Newtonian Third Law of Empires,” March 1, 2011). To wit, the exercise of imperial power generates an opposite and equal reaction among those affected by it, until they so reorganize themselves as to blunt the imperial edge. Alas, history is of no interest to politicians. Although Rome’s decline and fall should offer many a pertinent lesson to American politicians, they remain oblivious to it. Of course, this includes the Obama administration, as well.