Ambassador who resigned says "To win war, US should seem to lose it."

[BurtWorm]

John Brady Kiesling:

"This is the least sophisticated U.S. administration in decades -- or rather, the world has changed in 30 years and our leadership team missed it. You are probably right that they are not brave and subtle enough to put America's interests ahead of short-term political survival. But the American people shouldn't give up. They should demand a braver, more realistic president.
In the Middle East we have so little credibility left to lose that we can afford to take chances. We are very badly tainted by our inconsistency and (apparently) crude self-interest there. The Islamic world resents us not for having power but for appearing to use it in the service of injustice rather than justice. Our long-term goal is for our Muslim partners to recognize that the U.S. is indeed a force for peace, stability, prosperity and (yes, indeed) democracy, and invite us back. But it should be their invitation."

Kiesling is on line now, 11 am ET.

http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/04/outlook_kiesling051004.htm




On the eve of the Iraq war, John Brady Kiesling, a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, resigned in protest over U.S. policy. His eloquent letter of resignation was widely printed, including in the pages of the Washington Post's Outlook section. In this Sunday's Outlook section, Kiesling assesses where the United States stands now in the war in Iraq and comes up with this novel insight: To achieve its vital war aims, America must abandon its dream of victory and accept the appearance of defeat. To Win the Peace, We Must 'Lose the War

Kiesling explains that the deadliest illusion about warfare is that the aim of war is military victory. The true aim of war is to accomplish the political, economic or security goals for which it was fought. In a war competently waged for rational ends, one could rationally expect that America’s aims would best be achieved through dominance on the battlefield followed by the dignified establishment of a new and better order. But in a war like the one in Iraq, which is based on a chain of assumptions since proven false, we cannot win by being victorious.

Kiesling, who is currently a visiting professor at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and Hellenic Studies Program, answers questions about his piece on Monday, May 10 at 11 a.m. ET.

[LittleApple81]

1. This guy won my respect. He resigned when the War was still "popular"

and they tried to denigrate him and/or ignore him. This is what Powell should have done.

[DinahMoeHum]

2. Like I've said, military victory cannot exist without political victory.

And Kiesling has just echoed that sentiment.

:kick:

[NewJeffCT]

3. I remember shaking my head when he resigned...

I don't think the sheltered people of America that watch CNN, Faux, MSRNC, and even the regular networks realize how much standing we have lost in the world since early 2002 when the drumbeat for Iraq started sounding in earnest. (Yes, I know they had plans earlier than January of '02, they just didn't start making them public until early 2002...)

[trof]

4. Kick. Excellent. Read entire article.

John Brady Kiesling: America doesn't have a "real" foreign policy. We have lots of competing interests and competing bureaucracies, normally kept in balance by a strong President. A crisis forces a temporary unity, but 9-11 unfortunately occurred under a President not knowledgeable or principled enough to maintain a balance in the Cabinet. Rumsfeld's tactical alliance with the neocons at AEI brought him the greatest bureaucratic slam-dunk over the State Dept in post-WWII history, but it wasn't sustainable because it was based on a ludicrously stupid understanding of the planet we live on (e.g., the Project for the New American Century," which has cost American security dearly). The doctrine of permanent war is good for think tanks but very hard on the American people.

[BurtWorm]

5. The link is here

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10160-2004May8.html