Dirty Pool

Why I Declined to Serve - John J. Sheehan, WaPo

This is a perfect example of the difficulty the Bush administration has had in getting traction on any issue it takes aim at. The problem isn't that the administration is oblivious to reality but that there are too many competing interests and agendas to coherently approach reality. It really is more of a personnel issue than anything else. Coherency in strategic approach is essential, particularly in the realm of foreign policy. But from what I have read and heard there are two groups going head to head consisting of people like Secretaries Rice, Paulson and Gates going against Vice President Cheney, Karl Rove and the president himself. While I have not been the biggest supporter of Sec. Rice (and if you read Greg Djerejian's blog you will see why) I do think that she is on the side of the angels in this with her attempts at shuttle diplomacy. Secs. Gates and Paulson seem to get it as well in their efforts to curtail Iran's financial dealings and reasserting the U.S.'s moral superiority. But for all of their efforts they still have the problem of the influence that the 'more rubble, less trouble' crowd has in the White House. To attempt to assign a new position to oversee both wars in Afghanistan and Iraq when you have such incoherency is troubling at best and a sign of folly at worst.