Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia: October 2005

Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia: October 2005: "By the summer of 2002 there was no confusion about the Bush adminstration's intention of toppling Saddam Hussein. Readers will recall that late in the summer a flurry of Op-eds began appearing questioning the wisdom of Bush and company's project for Iraq. By the fall, many foreign policy intellectuals, sensing which way the wind was blowing, fell in line. In this regard, Kenneth Pollack's Threatening Storm is only an example. While Pollack caveats about the need for careful planning and execution do distance him from endorsing the way the occupation was implement, what is most interesting is that he did not find any other option feasible for dealing with Iraq.
As Rich notes we still do not know enough about how Bushies--who imbided pollyanish ideas about how easy it would be to stablize Iraq--manipulated America to drag it into a strategic nightmare, it is important not to let foreign policy intellectuals off the hook. Many of these men and women are waiting in the wings to join the next presidency, so their past lapses of good strategic sense bear examination too."