Daydream Believers-A Book Review
The amazing Slate military reporter, Fred Kaplan has just come out with an important book, Daydream Believers
. It is a stunning inside chronicle of the two central foreign policy initiatives of the Bush administration–Iraq and North Korea. But it also puts these intiatives in a much larger context like watching the development of Anti-Missle defense over 5 decades. As in our most recent debacles, the idealogues are constantly fighting a battle with realists. The idealogues are usually policy hacks straight out of conservative think tanks like AEI. The realists are usually career military officers or analysts who doggedly continue to resist the attempts to “create our own reality”. One comes away incredulous that guys like Doug Feith, who General Tommy Franks called “the dumbest guy on the planet”, could have ever gotten to the pinnacle of power. Kaplan lays out a history of great foreign policy triumphs over 50 years that succeeded in keeping us free and then concludes,
In contrast, Bush’s strategies neither succeeded nor endured–not even through two terms of his presidency–because they did not fit the realities of his era. They were based not on a grasp of technology, history or foreign cultures but rather on fantasy, faith, and a willful indifference towards those affected by their consequences.
Those in charge of his policies cared little about the details of warfare, knew little about the realities of the Middle East, and had not thoght through what made freedom work in their own country, much less what might make it work elsewhere.
Categories: Books · Defense Policy · Foreign Policy · Iraq War · Journalism · Mid East · Politics
Tagged: Daydream Believers, Doug Feith, Fred Kaplan, George W. Bush, Iraq War, Military policy, Slate
6 responses so far ↓
Iraq » Daydream Believers-A Book Review // February 22, 2008 at 9:59 am |
[...] Jon Taplin’s Blog wrote an interesting post today on Daydream Believers-A Book ReviewHere’s a quick excerptThe amazing Slate military reporter, Fred Kaplan has just come out with an important book, Daydream [...]
STS // February 22, 2008 at 10:43 am |
Thanks, Jon. That quote really nails it. The Bush crowd don’t even understand how freedom works here, and can’t begin to understand how to cultivate it elsewhere. Let’s hope the next administration manages to keep its head above the angry partisan waters (to say nothing of economic and budget flood waters) long enough to get us on some reality-driven dry land.
Zhirem // February 22, 2008 at 11:14 am |
STS, I hope you are saying that in a ‘free speech zone’…
Silly President, the free-speech zone exists from the border of Canada, south to the border of Mexico, and is bookended by the oceans Pacific and Atlantic…
That said, the next administration will have an unequaled opportunity on their hands: they can reunite the American people by simply being competent. The bar is so low now, as evidenced for over 7 years from Commander 19% Approval Rating that the next President will likely trip on it.
- Zhirem
- Zhirem
Cy // February 22, 2008 at 12:41 pm |
Oh Mr. Kaplan, how right you are!
I’m an American working in Baghdad right now. It is a staggering scene of waste and stupidity all based on fictions propagated by fools. After eight months here, I realized Catch 22 was a non-fiction novel! A bittersweet revelation indeed.
Enjoying your blog Jon, keep up the good work.
Note From Baghdad « Jon Taplin’s Blog // February 22, 2008 at 1:17 pm |
[...] strongly held opinions, backed by facts. This morning I got a comment from a reader on my review of Fred Kaplan’s new book. It’s comment like this that make it all so cool. Oh Mr. Kaplan, how right you [...]
Rachel Dixon // February 22, 2008 at 1:37 pm |
Jon, speaking of policies based on faith rather than reality, and anti-missile defence, I can highly recommend, if you haven’t read it, Frances Fitzgerald’s “Way Out There In the Blue: Reagan, Star Wars and the end of the Cold War”. It’s a remarkably well-balanced narrative about the kind of thinking that eventually led people like Feith to power. Fitzgerald is very generous toward Reagan, btw.
http://www.amazon.com/Way-Out-There-Blue-Reagan/dp/B0000C37EJ/ref=pd_bbs_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203715841&sr=8-4