Perles of ignorance
Never a good sign when 'The Prince of Darkness' is trotting out to face the media hordes as your chief defender.
Old white evil dudes gotta stick together.
I did love that Steve Inskeep, the mild-mannered co-host on Morning Edition, kind of got into it with Richard Perle today. From the show:
Inskeep: Why do you suppose that so many prominent Republicans--Trent Lott, John McCain, Chuck Hagel come to mind--have suggested that Rumsfeld should be replaced?
Perle: I don't think three senators is so many prominent Republicans
-cross-talk-
Inskeep: Susan Collins...
Perle: There are many other Republican senators who support him...
Inskeep: William Kristol, the editor of the Weekly Standard. It's not an enormous list, but it's a list.
Perle: It's a list, but it's a small enough list so that he doesn't need to be concerned about it and the President isn't concerned about it.
Perle goes on to blame the Clinton-era leadership for building an army to fight Cold War challenges, not face multiple micro-conflicts around the globe today (he also tries to co-opt Rumsfeld's damning line about the "military you have" into something a little more palatable).
Come on! Yeah, that might have been true a decade ago...but as detailed in many books (take Halberstam's War in a Time of Peace) Bush I and Clinton oversaw gigantic strides in technology that enabled our military to operate remote air wars and minimize human casualties. It's only when you attempt an invasive land war, without proper backing or occupation plan, that you run aground. And here's where I worry that Rumsfeld is just taking the fall for now; there's still no realistic exit plan, no long-term view for what Iraq should become...and the daily reports of horrific casualties, today as bad as any. The Vietnam for our generation.
I'm not Santa (nor Nostradamus), but it's safe to say that the vultures are circling. After the election? Well, as you referenced, the Iraqi political process seems like a pretty dicey propositon these days--his death watch may be lucky to go that long.
Old white evil dudes gotta stick together.
I did love that Steve Inskeep, the mild-mannered co-host on Morning Edition, kind of got into it with Richard Perle today. From the show:
Inskeep: Why do you suppose that so many prominent Republicans--Trent Lott, John McCain, Chuck Hagel come to mind--have suggested that Rumsfeld should be replaced?
Perle: I don't think three senators is so many prominent Republicans
-cross-talk-
Inskeep: Susan Collins...
Perle: There are many other Republican senators who support him...
Inskeep: William Kristol, the editor of the Weekly Standard. It's not an enormous list, but it's a list.
Perle: It's a list, but it's a small enough list so that he doesn't need to be concerned about it and the President isn't concerned about it.
Perle goes on to blame the Clinton-era leadership for building an army to fight Cold War challenges, not face multiple micro-conflicts around the globe today (he also tries to co-opt Rumsfeld's damning line about the "military you have" into something a little more palatable).
Come on! Yeah, that might have been true a decade ago...but as detailed in many books (take Halberstam's War in a Time of Peace) Bush I and Clinton oversaw gigantic strides in technology that enabled our military to operate remote air wars and minimize human casualties. It's only when you attempt an invasive land war, without proper backing or occupation plan, that you run aground. And here's where I worry that Rumsfeld is just taking the fall for now; there's still no realistic exit plan, no long-term view for what Iraq should become...and the daily reports of horrific casualties, today as bad as any. The Vietnam for our generation.
I'm not Santa (nor Nostradamus), but it's safe to say that the vultures are circling. After the election? Well, as you referenced, the Iraqi political process seems like a pretty dicey propositon these days--his death watch may be lucky to go that long.
posted by DD at 4:34 PM
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