Book Watch: State of Denial

Bob Woodward's 3rd book on the Bush administration is a page-turner! Iraq is at the center of the book, and one can't help but walk away with the feeling that this is one heck of a dysfunctional administration. I strong recommend you skim through this book (go to your public library), to get a sense of how goverment is NOT suppose to work. Hearing anecdotes about how the Bush administration arrives at decisions is no substitue for reading this book.

Some highlights:

• Prince Bandar (Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. from 1983-2005): In the first few chapters, Bandar is all over the place. I did not realize how close he is with Bush Sr., they are extremely close friends. He probably has more access to Bush Jr. than most members of the administration!


• Condi Rice: Judging by media reports you think that Condi Rice is a star inside the administration, that she is one of the more competent managers. It turns out, a lot of respected Republicans in foreign policy circles regard her as weak and ineffective. Her main problem is that she is essentially a member of the Bush family: she spends weekends with and socializes with the President and his family. David Kay, best known for heading the Iraq Survey Group and acting as a weapons inspector in Iraq after the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, feels that pre-war intelligence was weak, and that Rice and NSC should have asked more questions:
  

  "The dog that did not bark in the case of Iraq's WMD program, quite frankly in my view, is the National Security Council."
  
  "... (Rice) could have stopped trying to be the best friend of the president and be the best adviser and realize she's got this screening function ..."
  
  "(Rice) was probably the worst national security adviser in modern times since the office was created."
  

Please don't tell me the Republicans will ask her to run for office!

• Richard Armitage (Colin Powell's best friend and Deputy Secretary of State): I would love a whole book just on this guy. He is extremely funny, and as Naval officer in Vietnam, he and Powell were the main proponents of diplomacy. Some quotes:
  

  Referring to Cheny, Rumsfeld and Rice: "Their idea of diplomacy," Armitage said to Powell once, "is to say, 'Look f***er, you do what we want.'"
  
  Prior to the Iraq invasion, Powell and Armitage had discussions about Bush, Cheney and the White House: "Don't they have moments of self-doubt?"
  
  On the the tendency for people to stay too long in office and to think they are irreplaceable: "You got to remember when you remove your fist from a pail of water, there's no hole."
  

• Jay Garner (retired United States Army general who was appointed in 2003 as Director of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq but was soon replaced by L. Paul Bremer): Based on reading this book, the administration probably should have left Garner in place, as he seems to have skills that Bremer doesn't have: management skills, i.e., the ability to delegate; listening skills and humility; and as an ex-military person, a clear appreciation of and experience in providing infrastructure and logistics. Newt Gingrich on Bremer: "(he) is the largest single disaster in american foreign policy in modern times."
  

For the record, I opposed the Iraq invasion, and one of my main reasons for doing so, was hearing diplomats and foreign policy experts warning about the post-war chaos. The ability to listen seems to be in short supply in this administration.