Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal: A Weblog

So is Rumsfelf no longer a neocon? Is he blocking an invasion of Syria or Iraq? Do they think they can get rid of Rumsfeld and keep or promote Wolfowitz and Feith? Does Bush's "mandate" mean they think Richard Perle can get Congressional Approval now? Is Newt itching to get back in the arena? Are there still some felons from the Reagan years they haven't rehabilitated.

If Rumsfeld is booted, what makes anyone think Bush is capable of choosing a better Sec of Def? The sycophant pool is getting awfully small.

Is Midge Decter going to rewrite her love-note book when it comes out in paperback.

And God forbid the Commander-in-Chief be held accountable for military decisions.

Delong:

Good post about Kristol. He has been very critical 'between the lines' of the Bush administration's implementation of Iraq since April of 2003.

A point of difference. I remember Kristol being upset about Rumsfeld's handling of Abu Garabe. I do not remember Kristol ever saying that Bush should "keep" Rumsfeld. Kristol hinted that maybe Rumsfeld should resign while saying the 'Bush administration' would not dump Rumsfeld.

Remember that Kristol "opposed" Bush's tax cuts and called for much greater foreign aid than Bush.

Kristol politely and quietly opposed much of Bush's agenda:

1) Bush's softness on Saudi Arabia
2) Bush's softness on Pakistan
3) Bush's failure to take advantage of opportunities to improve US relations with the major Asian powers, including India, Japan and South Korea.
4) Bush's failure to consult and work more closedly with these same Asian powers, including on the issues of terrorism and Iraq.
5) Bush's failure to articulate and communicate a shared international idealistic agenda on terrorism, Iraq and other issues that Kristol felt
would resonate in many parts of the world, especially Asia.

In fact, Krystal's low key polite critisisms were often in substance very similar to those of Senator Biden and Peter Beinart.

Since before 9/11, I have been struck by the similarity of views expressed by Krystal, Biden and Beinart. I have heard Biden and Krystal praise each other quite highly.

Honesty is not a desirable commodity for the troops in Iraq. Knowing that they serve no useful purpose there and that they are not contributing in any meaningful way to the safety of the Homeland is not going to help their moral. And having a Defense Secretary who is honest enough to admit he is a fool who puts them in harms way without proper protection and who cares not one whit for their safety and well being won't exactly help their cause any.

If there is one person in the U.S. who has no business criticizing Rumsfeld or anyone else involved in the Iraqi adventure, it’s William Kristol. After all he, and his fellow New American Century travelers, has been cheerleading, with a plethora of proffered lies, since the early 1990s.

When will Kristol accept responsibility for his role in this misadventure and apologize to the thousands of limbless, sightless, and otherwise disabled soldiers and the families of those who have died?

Never. Straussian philosophers don’t have to apologize for their lies, or the mayhem that results there from. After all, it is their duty to lie to we of the dumb ass masses.

Mark Smith went got his grade school education in the same system as I did (assuming he grew up in Indiana). The things he says are very familiar to me. They were very familiar to my father, who went through grade school a quarter century earlier in the same state. I am very proud to hear a professional law enforcement officier and citizen soldier from my home state cite things that I believe should make my country special as reasons to fight.

I just wish I believed that my country continued to uphold those high standards. ...principle, not personality; the rule of law, not landed gentry; rights matter, not privilege or religion or color or creed... The president has nominated a man who thinks constitutional protections don't apply in war time to be the highest law enforcement officer of the land. The president has presided over detentions of US citizens, denial of habeus corpus rights, and torture. The president is himself the beneficiary of "legacy" positions at some of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the world, positions which he did not and could not earn for himself. He earned his living throughout his young adult years because of who his father was, not by his own merit. He is a "legacy" president, who could never have reached his current position if his father hadn't gone first, and if his brother hadn't leaned very hard on the electoral process in Florida.

Mark Smith needs to maintain his own standards, hold them out for his children to emulate. The rest of us, however, have a lot of work to do.

Is Rummy a bonafide, dyed-in-the-wool Straussian Neocon or perhaps just a wannabe? Perhaps the so-called "Wise" are putting some heat on the so-called Gentlemen for some reason. Who knows? These people are crazy.

Hello Don, Meet Mr. McNamara.

Wolfie, you should get acquainted as well.

Funny, they all kinda look the same. Maybe its the greasy haired thing.

As for Mr. Kristol, I agree with Chris as well. Bill deserves a solo patrol of Fallujah armed with nothing but a whiffle bat. Hell they all do.

kharris, Bravo!

Or do I mean "Right on, man! That's what it's all about..."?

Best of the seasons to all.

-dlj.