Of Foxes, Camels and Unlawful Combatants

By Scott Horton

The Bestiary of King Salomon, a Persian miniature (ca. 1520)

An old Persian wisdom story relates how a fox came to see the jackals, and said, “Brothers, loan me some money. I need to leave the country quickly.” The jackals were surprised. “Surely a fox can survive any political change?” “I have heard,” the fox replied, “that the king has issued an edict that all camels shall now be beasts of burden.” The jackals laughed. “So? You’re a fox!” “You fools,” replied the fox, “all it will take is for my enemies so say I am a camel, and people will come running with loads for me to carry on my back.”

No doubt, journalists and statesmen in animal society seriously debated the “transportation problem.” They debated “what does or does not count as a camel,” “how far and how much weight shall a camel legitimately bear?” and “do international transportation laws apply to camels?” just like we debate “what is torture?” “does stress torture count?” and “how far can one legitimately go in coercing a prisoner?” Meantime, the rest of the animals carried the burden of the unfolding transportation violence which, despite all the talk, never ended. Good luck to the rest of you camels.

–Muslih-ud-Din Mushrif-ibn-Abdullah (Sa’adi) (سعدی), Gulistan (گلستان) from: “The Manner of Kings,” Hekayat 16 (1258 CE)(as retold by Darius Rejali, 2006)