Yes, Virilio, of the "Radical Thinkers" series of books by Verso (specifically, his book _Strategy of Deception_ is part of that series, along with stuff by Adorno, Baudrillard, Negri, Zizek, etc.). Apparently the French military felt he had accurately predicted Gulf War '90 - '91 -- or, rather, certain modalities in which that war was fought and relayed to the public. The French commanders meeting with a PoMo-ish philosopher always gave me a chuckle, though Virilio is not as circumlocutious as Baudrillard.
Virilio: "[M]y work on the logistics of perception and the Gulf War was so accurate that I was even asked to discuss it with high-ranking French military officers. They asked me: 'how is it that you wrote that book in 1984 and now it's happening for real?' My answer was: 'the problem is not mine but yours: you have not been doing your job properly!'" From: http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=132
Putting PoMo theorists in positions of influence in the military -- that'd be a great idea for a movie. Or an SNL skit. I believe the French quickly abandoned the approach, much to everyone's shock! It sounds like the sort of thing the Freepers would really get their yuks from ("those stupid pretentious French folks!"), but I find it kinda funny myself.
-B.
Carl Remick wrote:
"BTW, that's quite a hoot -- an anthropologist named "McFate." And where but Yale would you find an anthropologist named 'Montgomery McFate'?"