War and Decision
Douglas Feith has a book out called War and Decision and I can’t reccomend it enough. I don’t read books because I don’t have the time, but this one looks real good. In the book, Feith talks about his role in September 11 and its aftermath from his perspective as an insider.
One thing that Feith explains is the reasonning behind attacking Iraq. It is much clearer when Feith explains it. He believes in the principal of anticipatory self defense. That principal means that you don’t have to wait to get attacked for something to be self defense. If somebody has the potential to attack you, you have every right to attack them first to make sure they don’t. This makes total sense to me and is the type of reasoning which saves American lives. We should not have to have Americans in harm’s way to defend ourselves when we can do it before hand. This should be a warning to other countries who have the capacity to attack the United States. We will be gunning for you.
I must object to Amazon.com who called Douglas Feith a collaborator on the page for his book http://www.amazon.com/War-Decision-Inside-Pentagon-Terrorism/dp/0060899735/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208392486&sr=8-1. That is the type of political judgement that is not only wrong, it isn’t something that Amazon.com should be involved in. Yes Feith was a part of the decision making process for attacking Iraq, but that hardly makes him a collaborator.
That's Right Nate 
I saw him on the Dailly Show. He sure did seem like a total idiot, didn’t he?
zenyenta
April 16, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Whoops..typo above makes me look like an idiot. But not as idiotic as Feith.
zenyenta
April 16, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I don’t watch the Daily Show, but Feith is anything but an idiot. From his book you can see he was on top of the Iraq situation from day one.
thatsrightnate
April 16, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Umm….Nate?
I believe when Amazon.com calls him a collaborator….they mean that he had help writing the book…not that he was aiding and abetting the enemy.
Eldrick
April 16, 2008 at 9:26 pm
That Doug Feith was “on top of the Iraq situation from day one,” is hardly a good recommendation if the status of that war is taken into consideration at all.
Having followed you here from one of the sites where you have lately taken to sharing your patriotism and conservative ideals, I’m going to start from the premise that whatever your motive is, it is a sincere one. In the same vein, the few question that I am going to ask are also sincere.
Have you ever been to the military think tanks, such as the National Defense University or the Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute? This website is a one-stop place for the studies that have been done, many of them pre and post Iraq war.
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/
The thing is, Nate, almost all of the studies disagree with everything that you believe is going on in Iraq, took place at some point in Iraq or anything else that you think you know about Iraq and/or terrorism. The reasons for this are not because the War Colleges are hotbeds of liberals or communists, but because these are the professionals that deal in reality, not political ideology. (I know you love the Navy, but since this war is in desert territory…)
During the run-up to the war, I wanted to make sure that my anti-war stance was based on something other than my liberal leanings. While I had no use for the military at the time, I do like to go to sources to get information, rather than rely on people with political agendas. It won’t surprise you one bit to learn that I’m still anti-war. But it very much surprised me to have come out of the experience with a very high regard for our military.
Can you honestly say that you have tested your assumptions and leanings in the least ideological way possible? And, are you willing to?
Best,
Carol
Carol James
April 17, 2008 at 4:54 am
Keep up the good fight.
We warned them,
They didn’t respond.
We followed through.
Great book!
Rigg
April 17, 2008 at 6:48 am
Eldrick–A lot of people have help when they write books. I still don’t think that’s a bad thing.
Carol–Welcome to the blog. I hope you stay. While I am a university graduate, I find that colleges often have an extreme far left agenda. Let’s not forget that that’s where the hippie radicalism of the 60s started. The navy can still be useful in desert situations. If you remember the movie Top Gun, they were in a fight in the desert, but they launched from an Air Craft Carrier in the Persian Gulf. While I lot of my information comes from people who do have a conservative ideology, I also get my information from the source itself. Guys like Bush, Cheney, and Petreaus who don’t have a political agenda other than to win the fight.
Rigg–Thanks, you too!
thatsrightnate
April 17, 2008 at 7:44 am
Nate – are you actually saying that the professors from the War Colleges (pick any service) of the US Military that actually taught those like Gen. Petreaus have a left agenda? Seriously?
OK, then…
Carol James
April 17, 2008 at 8:10 am
I’m not saying that the individual professors have a left agenda. Not at all. I’m saying simply that most colleges do.
thatsrightnate
April 17, 2008 at 8:11 am
Nate, perhaps it is the word ‘college’ that’s causing the confusion. These are not ordinary colleges, public or private. For one thing, the ‘students’ have to have at least secret if not Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearances. The students are nominated by their military agencies and in some case a civilian agency. They are not taking Am. History 101 as they usually come in with one master’s degree already. In the case of the NDU, “The President of the University, who reports to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is a lieutenant general or vice admiral chosen on a rotating basis from one of the military services.”
“Other University elements include the PINNACLE and CAPSTONE Courses for general and flag officers, the Center for Technology and National Security Policy, the Institute for Homeland Security Studies, the Office of Reserve Affairs, the School for National Top Security Executive Education, the Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellows Program, the NATO Staff Officer Orientation Course, the International Student Management Office, and the National Security Education Program.”
http://www.ndu.edu/index1.cfm
The U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks
“For more than a century, the U.S. Army War College (USAWC) has prepared senior military officers and civilians for strategic-leadership responsibilities. Today we play a major role in developing dedicated, intelligent, and competent men and women who will go on to serve our nation in positions of great responsibility. Senior military, civilian, and international leaders from all military Services and government agencies come to “study and confer” on the strategic application of landpower.”
http://www.carlisle.army.mil/about/about.shtml
Like I said, these are not left leaning folks. These are not ordinary colleges. These are the people that made Gen. P., Gen P. The people that taught him military strategy and how to fight wars. They also produce the research that the civilians in the Pentagon and the White House are supposed to read BEFORE fighting wars. It is assumed that the military in the Pentagon has already read the research.
It is somewhat disheartening that as a civilian I took the time and trouble to read the research and studies, but it is rapidly becoming apparent that I am one of the few civilians that may actually know what they are talking about. Which also makes me one of the few civilians that knows what I’m talking about, arguably much more than you at this point.
Carol James
April 17, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Oh wow! A college in fighting war? That is the single most awesome thing I have ever heard of. I wish I had known about this when I was 18. Don’t be discouraged Carol. I think its awesome that you took the time to do this. I’m looking forward to familiarizing myself with the web site.
thatsrightnate
April 17, 2008 at 6:02 pm