Dateline: SOCOM conference on the GWOT, Wyndham Hotel, Tampa FL, 13 July
The second day of the workshop was a lot more fun. As is typical when you get nine such towering egos around table, the first day was a lot of “no, no, no, I don’t think you understand the problem at all!” And the inevitable, “If you had read my book/speech/article, then you’d realize that I’ve already figured this whole thing out.” Plus the always great, “As my good friend Lee Kwan Yew told me last week . . .”
Okay, the last one was indeed Peter Schwartz of “Art of the Long View” fame.
So I was reduced to things like, “As Phil, the contractor who did my basement once said . . ..” And you know, Phil goes over pretty well actually.
So once we all came to the conclusion that each of us had something important to say but that none of us could explain it all (the Global War on Terrorism), things lightened up and we actually got a lot done today. Tomorrow we brief out to the Deputy Commander of SOCOM, Vice Admiral Eric Olson—a SEAL who looks every damn inch of it still in his mid-50s.
But enough about those people and their ideas, if blogging is mostly about talking about yourself, then really grand blogging is talking about what other people say about you. So let me run you through the three letters published by Esquire in the August issue, the one with The Donald (Trump) on the cover wearing all the bling-bling. This issue also features an article by the great Tom Junod called, “The Case for Bush,” which I may blog tomorrow on the plane home after I read it tonight. But I’ll need a couple of Budweisers to wash that one down—even as good as Tom is.
But enough about that Tom and his article, on to the letters about my piece in the June issue of Esquire (August, p. 24):
The Sound and the Fury
WITH HELP FROM a mischievous canine, the beautiful Carmen Electra welcomed readers to our June issue, packed with all things summer, from great food roads (“Drivn’ & Eatin’”) to fishing advice (“The Skills of Summer”). Inside, contributing editor Charles P. Pierce sized up the Democratic presidential hopeful (“The Misunderestimation of John Kerry”), and Naval War College professor Thomas P.M. Barnett concluded that for the sake of the world security, the boys will never be coming home (“Mr. President, Here’s How to Make Sense of Our Iraq Strategy”).
I must congratulate Barnett on writing what could be the best piece of advice to the president of the United States in many years. Barnett clearly spells out an appropriate course of action that would support the U.S.’s desires for security and attract the support of the rest of the modern world. I can only hope Kerry follows it.
ALEXANDER MAIR
TORONTO, ONT.
Barnett’s article gave me a moment’s pause. Here at last, I thought, is someone making an arguably coherent case for the broader strategic underpinnings of George Bush’s inarguably incoherent war in Iraq. To those who ask, “What’s it got to do with the war on terror?” Barnett answers: It’s the opening salvo in the greater war between the Core and the Gap, the Connected and the Disconnectors.
But after the pause, I got my head back on straight. Barnett’s vision suffers from the wrongheaded assumption that those connected to globalization (the Core) and those disconnected from it (the Gap) are entire nations, together with their whole populations en masse, rather than heterogeneous population groups within those nations. In other words, if there’s a Gap, it’s the gulf between those who reap the wealth of globalization (whom I call the Rich) and those who are exploited, impoverished, or simply bypassed by it (the Poor). That Gap is the true threat, and it’s getting worse.
In shaping a new paradigm for identifying our enemies, Barnett does not consider that the true meaning of the post-cold-war era is that perhaps it’s finally time to tackle the common enemies of humanity—hunger, disease, corruption, social and economic injustive, and, yes, war.
Like the president, Barnett would rather see enemies than make friends, pursue war when we can have peace, and secure unilateral U.S. dominance at a time when the needs of humanity cry out for interdependent and multilateral solutions. I reject his call to arms.
In saying so, I am not so naïve as to believe there are not real enemies out there plotting dire harm against this country, its allies, and their innocents. Rather, I am saying that the alternative to Barnett’s bellicose, neo-conservative vision is a world peacefully united around a common agenda of social, political, environmental, and economic justice.
We’ve tried it Barnett’s way. It’s called Iraq, and it’s a train wreck. If we follow his map, the road ahead will lead us to a thousand burning Fallujahs. There is another path. It’s called peace.
PAUL ROSSMAN
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.
Why is Barnett writing articles for magazines when he should be helping Rumsfeld pull his head out of his ass? Great article. Barnett should be in a double-top-secret talking to bigwigs about all this, not in a naval classroom and on the phone with editors during office hours. Then again, maybe he is in a secret room. I’ve never met anyone who’s taken his “class.” Hmm.
BILL ARGERSINGER
PORTLAND, OREG.
COMMENTARY: In order of appearance:
MAIR: Gotta love that one, since it comes off so bipartisan: great advice to POTUS and he hopes Kerry puts it to good use. I gotta admit, despite Putnam sending a slew of copies to the campaign and Teresa Heinz herself, we have not heard a peep out of that crowd. Now, they certainly are some busy beavers over there, what with running for president and all, but I am curious. Bottom line on this one is: I’m happy the piece can be interpreted as being easily accessible to Kerry’s potential administration—and from Canada no less!
ROSSMAN: Ooow! The old bait-and-switch! Thought I had him there, but when I got to the end and heard he was from San Francisco, all the peace-love-and-understanding stuff (I know, I know, I’m legitimately viewed only as a philosopher of war) seemed less surprising. The thing that bugs me, of course, is that if this guy read the book, I truly believe he’d be hard-pressed to say I don’t advocate all those things in spades. But as the only negative one of the trio, I have to admit, this one went down pretty easy.
ARGERSINGER: This one is the letter I referred to yesterday in my blog. Funny to me because the guy who gave me the Xerox of the letters page was none other than the Combatant Commander of Special Operations Command himself! Yeah, the guy actually running the Global War on Terrorism for the uniformed military! Only shame was, I wasn’t in a “double-top-secret room,” but merely a nice conference room at the Tampa Wyndham hotel just off the bay. But damned if the room wasn’t full of Special Operations Command senior officers writing down damn near every word I said. So hey, I’m strategizing here! I’m straaaategizing here! But no, I have no plans to pull Don Rumsfeld’s head out of anything, much less his ass. Beyond my pay grade—pure and simple.
And yes, if Bill of Portland really wants to know, I can give him the names of 14 people who have taken my class at the college. Strangely enough though, they’ve all disappeared from Newport in the months since—never to be heard from again (okay, a couple of e-mails here and there).
I have to say that overall, getting two very nice and only one sort of rough one seemed like I got off easy. I guess it really pays to have the Executive Editor of Esquire with a financial stake in your book. Some might call it conflict of interest, Mark Warren calls it . . . what’s that word again? Oh yeah—synergy!
Hmmm. Don’t go there. . ..
Today’s catch:
Terrorism does postpone an election . . . in Afghanistan
“Taliban, Militias Stand in the Way Of Afghan Ballot: Parliament Election Delayed Amid Security Concerns; Mr. Razek’s Difficult Sell; ‘Infidel Working for Infidels,’” by Yaroslav Trofimov, Wall Street Journal, 13 July, p A1.
“Jalal Jousts Karzai, Status Quo: Afghan Woman Campaigns to Lead Country Past Taliban Legacy,” by Yaroslav Trofimov, WSJ, 13 July, p. A12.
‘Fahrenheit’ does not cross divide, but merely reflects it
“Two Americas of ‘Fahrenheit’ and ‘Passion’: Urban Moviegoers for Anti-Bush Documentary, Suburban Audience for Religious Epic,” by Sharon Waxman, New York Times, 13 July, p. B1.
Brain drain may leave Gap brain dead on AIDS
“Lack of AIDS Doctors in Poor Countries Stalls Treatment,” by Marilyn Chase and Amir Efrati, WSJ, 13 July, p. B1.
“Rights Group Seeks to Halt Africa’s Losses In Health Care,” by Celia Dugger, NYT, 13 July, p. A7.
China’s treasure fleet plies the waves yet again!
“The Ultimate Luxury Item Is Now Made in China,” by Keith Bradsher, NYT, 13 July, p. A1.
| Permalink |
