Comments on: One true love

By: pepi

pepi — Sat, 29 May 2004 14:47:53 +0000

I don’t get it either. Some people seem to have no shame. Ledeen’s another one. Particularly interesting since he was among those directly involved in the Iran-Contras affair. No wonder he’s got a soft spot for Iranian spies, he was one.

By: liberal japonicus

liberal japonicus — Sat, 29 May 2004 06:48:37 +0000

Maybe this is simply a case of the devil you know versus…

By: gorgoron

gorgoron — Sat, 29 May 2004 04:09:51 +0000

yes, but who will mathemeticians go with? didn't frum and perle already write their book? albeit escaping wide denunciation. gently-chided maybe? taken into account perhaps? ignored? bill kristol, btw, was remarkably conciliatory the other nite on the daily show, if not contrite. the FT is touting allawi's nomination for interim PM as a "victory" for the state dept/CIA against the pentagon. i don't really see it, but it is i think an object lesson for the 'narrow ideologues' in realist practise.

By: NeoDude

NeoDude — Sat, 29 May 2004 03:25:57 +0000

George Bush Jr. is a Punk!

By: elliander

elliander — Sat, 29 May 2004 01:01:30 +0000

I just get the fuzzy feeling that there’s no way to tell what’s going on – Perle could be floating an idea for the Administration, whereby if Iraq spirals out of control, we just walk away clean. Especially if Bush’s numbers need it. Since the “liberation” was never meant to be an “occupation” we walk away as if that was exactly what we planned all along, not a decision forced by circumstances. Or, Pearle could just be trying to salvage a bit of a legacy for his “preemptive and transformative wars (against Arabs) for democracy” idea. I have no idea, but I take nothing at face value from an Administration hack.

By: moog

moog — Sat, 29 May 2004 00:40:53 +0000

Now that Chalabi and the INC are no longer receiving the monthly stipend, and his office has been ‘raided’, I’d say that Perle is probably attempting to remain nominally supportive so that Chalabi doesn’t publicize…certain financial kickbacks?…the identity of who leaked to him the very top secret NSA info? I’m searching for some links, but I have been reading other Perle quotes that lead one to the impression that Perle is not distancing himself from Chalabi with quite the alacrity of some other neo-cons. How could the US have possibly turned Iraq over to the Iraqis when we first entered Baghdad with all the looting and violence that was occuring? Pearle must still be hanging on to the fantasy that Chalabi had wide-spread support in Iraq.

By: DCharles

DCharles — Fri, 28 May 2004 22:45:12 +0000

Giles- As you claim that Ted needs to “learn to understand english” why are you posting messages to him in English, and it would seem pointless in asking him a question in English.

By: Ted Barlow

Ted Barlow — Fri, 28 May 2004 22:40:53 +0000

A very good question. Let me think about it.

By: Walt Pohl

Walt Pohl — Fri, 28 May 2004 22:36:53 +0000

Hey, Giles, how does it feel to be advancing the foreign policy interests of Iran? Feels good, doesn’t it? I wonder if there’s another positive side-effect for the Iranian government—did the US intervention in Iraq discredit the pro-democracy movement in Iran?

By: Giles

Giles — Fri, 28 May 2004 22:33:56 +0000

Ted – the quote would have been accurate if is said Perle described “a” US policy as mistaken. But instead it “described U.S. policy in post-war Iraq as a failure”. A (sort of ) subtle but very significant distortion of what he meant. Its also interesting how many people at the time said that it would be a mistake to move tooo fast (and I agree). By contrast it would also be a mistake to move too slowly – as has happened in Kosovo. But anyway I’d be interested to know if you, even with hindsight prefered the Rumsfeld immediate handover plan, the current Bush 12-18 month timeline or the Kosovan some time in the long to medium term strategy.

By: Ted Barlow

Ted Barlow — Fri, 28 May 2004 21:48:41 +0000

dcharles, Sure, I’d have no problem with that. The word “failure” is a harsh one. Perle actually does use the word “failure”, but there’s a strong case that it shouldn’t be applied to the policy as a whole:

Perle said the biggest mistake in post-war policy “was the failure to turn Iraq back to the Iraqis more or less immediately.

Sandro Contenta wrote the story; perhaps this concern could be usefully addressed to him.

By: DCharles

DCharles — Fri, 28 May 2004 21:38:26 +0000

Accuracy and good manners are, I think, the foundations of great debate. The effort to remain accurate is a continuing part of the intellectual enterprise. Innaccuracy can be gently corrected. However, be warned, since lack of good manners is often a substitute for intellectual rigour and sometimes a sign of intellectual laziness or arrogance. Would it have been better said thus: Richard Perle, until recently a powerful adviser to U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, described U.S. policy in post-war Iraq as flawed.

By: Adrian Spidle

Adrian Spidle — Fri, 28 May 2004 21:22:02 +0000

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By: Jeremy Osner

Jeremy Osner — Fri, 28 May 2004 21:17:01 +0000

Giles: speaking of learning to read English, the words you quote are not Ted’s.

By: Ted Barlow

Ted Barlow — Fri, 28 May 2004 21:10:44 +0000

Giles, You must speak a charming dialect of English in which the timing of handing over soverignity cannot possibly be described as a “policy”.