www.ornery.org/essays/warwatch/2004-04-04-1.html
Its no secret that I believe the War on Terror is essential, for us and for the future of Western Civilization. Its also no secret that the standard intellectual position on the war is virulent opposition - at least to the campaign in Iraq. There are sensible reasons to have opposed the Iraq campaign from the start, and sensible reasons to regret it now. Instead, I hear the kind of vitriol spewed in - sadly - John Le Carrs latest novel, Absolute Friends . Its a moving story of how a disaffected young Pakistani-born Englishman and a very odd young German become involved in spying and counter-spying during the Cold War. But at the end, in a series of events that strain credulity, Le Carr deforms his story in order to deliver a screed against the War in Iraq, America, religion, and big business - basically, the devils pantheon of the PC establishment. Le Carrs literary reputation was created by his refusal to take sides in his spy novels, devoting himself instead to creating well-rounded characters on both sides of the Cold War struggle. Filled with rage, apparently, he makes his fiction a servant to the political ideas of the people around him, which he apparently does not question, as he actually calls the Iraq War if I remember the phrase correctly the most immoral war in history. It would take a very strange definition of immoral, war, or history to justify such a statement. But that is the kind of thing were hearing from the mouth-frothing wing of anti-American and/or anti-Bush intellectual crowd. It goes right along with paranoid rumors like the one in Parade on Sunday, in a letter from a reader who repeated the rumor that the Bush administration already knows where Osama is, and they plan to capture him just in time for the election. The opponents of the present administration have reached such a level of paranoid hatred that there is no action or motive so evil that they are not willing to ascribe it to their enemies. It makes the wackiest accusations against Clinton during the Monica years look almost sane by contrast. The sad thing is that real intellectuals would actually try to find out who the people are who are running this war, what their ideas are, how they got to the position theyre in, and what we can likely expect to happen in the future, if this administration remains in power. Just in case there is someone - on either side of the debate about the war - who actually would like to find the answers to such questions, let me recommend a couple of books. Rumsfelds War: The Untold Story of Americas Anti-Terrorist Commander is written by Rowan Scarborough, and he is, to put it kindly, an enthusiast for Mr. But this does not mean that he is not reliable in the facts he presents. In fact, the title of the book, which is a less-than-sly jab at President Bush - whose war?
In times of war, a leader who is tough and effective can also be unlikeable and ambitious, and the nation is, on balance, well-served - as long as he doesnt pull a MacArthur and decide the President should work for him . A much more illuminating and valuable book is James Manns Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bushs War Cabinet . Mann does a masterful job of tracing the interlocking careers of Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Condaleezza Rice, and the less well-known but scarcely less influential Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Armitage . Its interesting to see how entering government service can lead to extraordinary wealth. After serving at certain levels of government, if you have won the favor of influential people you can find yourself sought after as an executive or board member of important corporations, where your bonuses and stock options can make you independently wealthy in a surprisingly short time. There are those who assume that these relationships are a corrupt bargain - look at all the wild accusations about various corporations getting favored treatment because high administration figures once worked for them. The payments these favored people received were not bribes - they were standard corporate compensation for people who provide valuable services, and there is no hint that they are expected to go on providing such services after they move on to other positions. By contemporary business standards, they already earned, in full, everything they were paid. Their service is valuable to business because of the experience, knowledge, and network of acquaintanceship they gained in government service - but it would be unreasonable to ban former government workers from taking their brains with them when they go. It can even be argued that its not a bad thing for such useful civil servants to become independently wealthy before returning to even higher positions in government. It means they are free to concentrate on their jobs without worrying about how theyre going to provide for their families;
They have a new set of ideas, and despite the important differences among them, there are key issues on which they see eye to eye. To me, at least, the writing in Rise of the Vulcans seems impartial enough to be trusted. Im not sure whether Mann agrees with any or all of them on anything. Those who read this book will be considerably better educated about recent American foreign policy in general and current policy in particular. They will also be extremely unlikely to make foolish and unfounded accusations or listen to paranoid rumors. Because, even when I think the decisions of this administration have been wrong, they were wrong for a reason , not because they love war or want to benefit oil interests or any of the other ridiculous accusations weve been hearing. They also believe they are doing so under the leadership of a good President. Bush is that he not only had the ego strength to surround himself with people this smart, he also has the leadership skills to keep them working for him, even when - as has happened to every single one of them - he makes a decision contrary to their fervently argued advice. There are sound reasons for questioning or opposing many of the war and foreign policies of this administration. But, especially if you loathe this administration and everything it stands for, I believe you need to know all the information in this book before you make any ad hominem attacks. But you will at least be prepared to engage their ideas instead of indulging in name-calling and paranoid fantasies. Your Comments Print This Page E-mail This Page Featured Columnist Recent Columns: By Orson Scott Card Whos Running This War? April 4, 2004 On Fairness and Families March 28, 2004 Who Should Really Be Bushs Running Mate This Year? March 21, 2004 More World Watch Links of Interest Literature as Politics - By Steve Vivian . Check out this link to commentator Hugh Hewitts response to mainstream medias anti-Mormon coverage of the Utah Olympics . It looks like the global warming doubters may have the facts on their side. Check out the following links Amy Ridenours report on Antarctic research . Recent Guest Essays Judicial Activism, Libertarianism, Federalism, and Gay Marriage By James Wynn March 26, 2004 Everyone knows that Activist Judges are the bane of conservatives in the United States. By Shon Flake March 22, 2004 In Arizona, where I live, a bill called Clean Elections was passed by initiative in 2000. Now, any candidate who can garner enough $5 contributions can make it onto a primary elections ballot, and run for public office with support from the states general fund. An Unpatriotic Act By Mark Gowan March 17, 2004 There are striking similarities between government and business but the business of government is not only about economics, profit and product. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
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