Noonan on "State of Denial"


Columnist finds that she can't easily bash Bob Woodward's new book
Peggy Noonan wrote her reaction to State of Denial, and it surprised her. I still haven't read the book, so I'm not in the best place to judge. This bit got my immediate attention.

After Baghdad fell, Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia, who appears to be the best friend of everybody in the world, went to the White House and advised the president to fill the power vacuum immediately: The Baath Party and the military had run the country. Remove the top echelon--they have bloody hands--but keep and maintain everyone else. Tell the Iraqi military to report to their barracks, he advised, and keep the colonels on down. Have them restore order. Have Iraqi intelligence find the insurgents: "Those bad guys will know how to find bad guys." Use them, and then throw them over the side. This is advice that has the brilliance of the obvious, and not only in retrospect.

Mr. Woodward: "'That's too Machiavellian,' someone said. The Saudi notes of the meeting indicate it was either Bush or Rice."

It's isn't clear if "too Machiavellian" meant too clever by half, or too devious for good people like us. Either way it was another path not taken. The newly unemployed personnel of the old Iraqi government took to the streets, like everyone else.

I'm not a historian, but I'll admit to being an occasionally obsessed history buff. For some time now, reading between the lines, it seems to me that we've not been ruthless enough. Rumors and noises supported that view, but there hasn't been anything definite.

I agree that war should always be the last resort. I don't go as far as some of my fellow libertarians or some of my fellow Pagans in saying that war should never be an option. Sometimes the rules of civilization can be exploited against the very society those rules are supposed to protect. When that happens, well, then it is time to stop being nice.

You can't wave the sword around and expect things to happen. It's not enough to just show power, it has to be used skillfully. Otherwise the sword wielder runs out of energy without accomplishing much.

I am also not a mechanic, but I know enough that it is easier to adapt than to start completely new. Adapted pieces may not be perfect, but they move in the right direction.

Now I am going to have to buy Woodward's book.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Sat - October 7, 2006 at 05:17 AM  Tag


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