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Foreign Policy: Declaring Sweeping Doctrines vs. Attention to Detail

Updated Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002, at 12:29 PM ET

Who are these people?

Note: The first entry was sent last night.

David,

Back to Teddy Roosevelt. At the Minnesota State Fair in 1901, he said, "There is a homely adage which runs, 'Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.' " Of course, Teddy never really lived by that, but it was sound advice—and George W. Bush seems to have done quite the opposite on Tuesday night. The question is, was his bellicose rhetoric mere posturing or real policy change? The papers today are filled with anonymous Bush administration officials scurrying away from a literal interpretation of the Evil Axis doctrine—and pundits, Safire in the Times and Kristol in the Post, engaged in Hearstian wishful thinking: WAR! WAR! WAR! Given my well-known proclivities toward anonymity, I tend to side with the Bush administration officials—though I'd really like to know their provenance: State, Defense, NSC, the Residence? Can't we journalists be a little more specific about our unnamed sources? But these officials do make a clear separation: Iraq stands well above Iran and North Korea in the hierarchy of infamy. I agree. But why didn't Bush say so? Why the trinitarian balance? The kindest interpretation is that the president merely wanted to warn all these guys that we're watching them. But they already knew that. And I wonder, is any sort of "stick" really lurking, or just the hope that hot words will scare the bejesus out of the Axis? We're not going to war with North Korea or Iran. In the former case, South Korea simply wouldn't have it, and we can't do it without them. As for Iran, I've just returned from there and must save the details for The New Yorker. But trust me: We're not going to war with those guys, either.

Which leaves Saddam. Good old Saddam. On the night before the Gulf War began, I was in Israel, talking to a "national security expert" who fearlessly predicted that Saddam would not arm his Scuds with poison gas to attack Israel. Why not? "Because he knows that we have the ultimate deterrent capability." Which is to say, of course, The Bomb. If we crank up our mighty arsenal with the clear purpose of taking Saddam out—as opposed to merely evicting him from Kuwait—he'll be less reluctant to douse Israel with whatever he's got. Are you ready for that? I'm not a "national security expert," so I don't know if there's a more subtle way of going after him. Assassination seems the most prudent course, but there's a reason why the CIA mistrusts the Iraqi opposition groups. And, as I said yesterday, there's a reason why the tacit American policy has been to keep Saddam in power: the likelihood of regional chaos if he goes.

I am sure the Armchair Warriors will accuse me of hand-wringing. But, as I get older, I tend to place more faith in attention to detail than to the pronunciation of doctrine. One of the great strengths of Clinton's foreign policy was his unwillingness to declare some sweeping doctrine; the great weakness of his foreign policy was an inability to pay sustained, detailed attention to the nuances and complexities overseas. Until Tuesday, Bush had shown a very clear head about priorities and a mature appreciation of the daunting complexities of this campaign. Now I'm not so sure. We can all agree on the desirability of ridding the world of powerful maniacs, but it should be done quietly, prudently, without recourse to overheated and inaccurate chest-pounding.

the breakfast table
entries
12345678910111213141516
from: Joe Klein
to: David Brooks

Foreign Policy: Declaring Sweeping Doctrines vs. Attention to Detail

Updated Thursday, Jan. 31, 2002, at 12:29 PM ET
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David Brooks is senior editor of the Weekly Standard and author of Bobos in Paradise. Joe Klein is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton.
Photograph of Teddy Roosevelt on Slate's Home Page © Corbis.
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Wednesday Notes From the Fray Editor:

The main topic in the Fray is the State of the Union speech. REW-OEM explains here why he was tempted to join the 84% but ended up in the 16%, and asks "Why is it not possible to respect and applaud President Bush's positively spun and well transformed public demeanor, acknowledge his strength and steadfastness in difficult times, and yet still question the will and wisdom of his plans for our future?" More questions: Anita tries to answer Joe Klein's "how do you convince people that a certain selflessness is good for the soul…?" John-Paul Spiro read "bourgeois democratic nations…don't breed poisonous ideological groups" and wants to ask "What do you call Timothy McVeigh?" Why does Peter Lahey feel like a character from Invasion of the Body Snatchers? Click here to find out.


Reader Comments From The Fray:

What Brooks calls idealism could itself be called, and often has been, imperialism or the spread of global capitalism or an arrogant disrespect for the sovereignty of other nations. To define the "spreading" of any cultural force or view (democracy, capitalism, or hmmm say Christianity) by force as "idealistic" seems on the face of it absurdly ethnocentric and arrogant. One must, like Hegel, be willing to assert that one's culture represents the historical pinnacle and telos of human endeavor--in which case, every other country, including Great Britain (with their nasty socialist ways!) would have to be invaded and made to conform to the US Constitution in the name of American idealism. To suggest, as Brooks does, that bourgeois democracy represents the best that can be aspired to--well, that's a dim thought, made no brighter by being pasted with the shiny label of "idealism."

--J

(To find or answer this post, click here .)

Monday Notes From The Fray Editor:

Always check your quotations or the Fray will get you. All together now: "I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness." (We'll miss out the "starving hysterical naked" bit.) Other phrases that caught readers attention were "by any means necessary" (in regard to questioning suspects) and "congenital DNA" (What other kind is there, asked one poster.) Urquhart says Klein "gets points for use of the word 'dudgeon,' which I've never seen outside of a Wodehouse novel." And there are plenty of discussions on Enron and the economy.


Reader Comments From The Fray:


Klein thinks we should be "interrogating the hell out of them by any means necessary." Does this include torture? I'd like to hear his opinion. And his reference to the nine families who lost loved ones is weak. Yes, we should remember the damage done by the terrorists. But that doesn't mean that every policy argument needs to have the approval of the relatives of the victims.

--Leonard

(To find or answer this post, click here.)


It seems to me the public's indifference about the extent of Enron's dealings with the Bush administration says more about the public than it does about our need to know. I doubt Cheney would risk the potential political damage of a court dispute if he didn't think the contents of his meeting notes were potentially more explosive. If Cheney's right, and this is just Dem hype, then prove us wrong and release the documents. Enron shareholders got screwed, in part, by a lack of corporate transparency. Cheney's claim that disclosing these documents could impair future leaders' ability to consult with corporation without fear of public scrutiny is, at best, disingenuous, at worst, more of the same opaqueness that got us in this mess.

--John Rogers

(To find or answer this post, click here.)


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