Harkonnen as Soviets – makes sense, considering they were the baddies at the time, and the Baron’s first name is Vladimir
I like “Benehana Sisters”, but, to nitpick, it’s Bene Gesserit. I’ve heard other explanations, from the Herberts even, but I can’t help noticing that this is Latin. My rusty schoolboy Latin tells me that it means something like “they will have done well”.
I guess that Laura Bush isn’t the heretic that Jessica was. If Laura was doing her part to keep this analogy going, one of the twins should have been a boy.
and HPL
Naturally, naturally! The iraqi army certainly is NOT comparable to the fremen, in terms of skill. BUT: if the US is supposed to represent the Imperium and our forces the Sardaurkar (as you postulated) then the indigenous fighting force (the Iraqi army) represents the fremen. Unless you want to argue that the Kurds are a better fit as “The oppressed minority whose strength is unknown”.
Obviously, the parallels aren’t perfect!