alternative hippopotamus

The One Percent Doctrine: A Brief Note

7 Responses to “The One Percent Doctrine: A Brief Note”

1. Bulworth Says:
   June 27th, 2006 at 10:49 am

   Planned on going to this, but the rain, I wasn’t feeling well, etc, so I went home.

   But bought the book on Sunday and had it with me yesterday just in case.

   Only a few pages into it, but the tone strikes me as empathetic (to a degree) as well.

2. Bulworth Says:
   June 27th, 2006 at 1:42 pm

   I couldn’t help but be struck by the remarks of Brent Scowcroft, which
   Suskind documents early in the book. According to Suskind, Scowcroft
   expressed astonishment that the source of the 9-11 attacks had been
   Afghanistan.

   Really? Osama bin Forgotten had already orchestrated attacks on the U.S. in
   Somalia and embassies in Africa, not to mention the bombing of a U. S. ship
   in Yemen right around the time of the 2000 election. I have to believe
   that U.S. intelligence knew Osama was behind these attacks and that Osama
   was hiding out in plain view in Afghanistan, through the sponsorship of the Taliban.

   Hard to believe someone as entrenched as Scowcroft wouldn’t have easily imagined both where
   a future terrorist attack could occur from but also what scope it might take, given
   the truck bombing of the the OKC federal building by American homegrown terrorist
   Timothy McVeigh.

3. AltHippo Says:
   June 27th, 2006 at 2:36 pm

   Very interesting. I’m trying to find the reference. Do you recall the page number?

4. Bulworth Says:
   June 27th, 2006 at 3:22 pm

   I don’t have the book with me today–but the remark occurs during a discussion
   Scowcroft had with Cheney in the month after 911.

   Apparently Scowcroft had been asked to give the administration a review of the nation’s
   intelligence services and bureaucracy prior to 911.

   Try pages 25-35 somewhere in there.

5. AltHippo Says:
   June 27th, 2006 at 4:01 pm

   Found it. Page 32:

   “My God, it emerged from Afghanistan,” Scowcroft said, “just about the most backward, forgotten country on the planet. It shows how little we know about where the threats are coming from.”

   Knowing what we need to know, when we need to know it, Scowcroft said to Cheney, would mean rethinking the nature of intelligence. The intelligence function was now parceled out among a wide array of agencies, and intelligence services of the military branches. “We need a massive intelligence research library,” Scowcroft said, using an old-school term that has been replaced by buzzwords like “aggregation” and “integration.”

   I had a slightly different interpretation than you did, one that reads into Scowcroft’s remarks somewhat. What I think he really means is: Your intelligence sucks in Afghanistan and other Islamic countries. Let me rebuild it for you.

   Of course, he can’t say that to Cheney. So, instead he says: Whoda thunk Afghanistan?

   Still, Cheney gets the drift and cuts off all communication with Scowcroft.

6. Bulworth Says:
   June 28th, 2006 at 8:27 am

   You’re probably right about Scowcroft’s intent. That was actually my second interpretation
   on further thinking about the passage and the remark. Scowcroft being almost facetious.

7. alternative hippopotamus » Blog Archive » Inquiring Minds Want to Know Says:
   July 25th, 2006 at 11:07 pm

   […] We recently learned that Ron Suskind does his interviews at Bread and Chocolate, the New Kids on the Blog (Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, and Julian Sanchez) can be spotted on 18th street, and while I’m at it, the Townhouse List was not exactly an anagram, if you know what I mean. […]

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