September 11, 2007: September 11 book review

For those who haven't noticed, my review of Norman Podhoretz's World War IV is up on Pajamas. I took more time than usual writing this one because a. I didn't want to be misconstrued on such an important subject and b. Norman has been a hero of mine since I was a teenager. I used to read Commentary when I was in high school (I know, I know, what a nerd - and we didn't even have that term then - nerd - and I had never heard of a neocon.)

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A WONDERFUL remark, Roger!
"...The best part of Podhoretz’s book is a tour d’horizon of all this opposition. He has a nose for the sturm und drang of intellectual conflict, whether it be the posturing of a Sontag or a Mailer, the slithering realpolitik of a Brent Scowcroft or the preening prevarications of a Joseph C. Wilson. For decades, since Making It and Breaking Ranks, Podhoretz has written brilliantly about this blood sport of the intelligentsia – and the stakes around it now are perhaps higher than ever."

Posted by: heather at September 11, 2007 9:44 AM

When I was a girl, my father thought my sister and I knew a lot of boys with intellectual pretensions. He'd ask any boy who came into the house: "Who is Norman Podhoretz?" I married the first guy who knew the answer. OK, we're no longer married but I don't blame Podhoretz.

Posted by: Joanne Jacobs at September 11, 2007 7:37 PM

Interesting review on a book I now have to read. From your pointing out a couple key elements of 'war campaign' shortcomings that Norman Podhoretz didn't write on, I would like to add one.

As covered in the news repeatedly over the last three years, our troops are continually challenged in getting the stuff they need in theater. Military leadership can tell you that there we have a crisis in getting technology and equipment out of our military acquisition pipelines and into the field (despite the installation and efforts of the Office of Force Transformation and the US Army Rapid Equipping Force, that are yet at odds with the old order system. You just have to review the Trophy PRG Defeat system issue, for one).

From my view over the last 5 years, you would have little idea we were in a war, much less WWIV. One may say that addressing this is someone else's job, but the ultimate leadership is the President's and he has not grasped the gravity of the issue and taken command of getting needed armor and new equipment directly through his military system to assure the speed critical to his success (much like he hasn't engaged the public in this being a critical war that they must participate in).

As Commander-in-Chief of the US Forces, George W. Bush remains isolated from a tactical development which most addresses his doctrinal words of engagement in the war on restructuring stability in the Middle East, despite repeated efforts over the past three years from varied angles of getting his awareness of this. Being involved in the program, we have only asked him to grasp the capabilities gap he has. He doesn’t have to believe in our particular solution. Today, we are on the web with Operation American Agility taking it to the American people ourselves so that we as a nation do not remain flatfooted. General Petraeus did an excellent job on Capital Hill this week, but you had to sense he is without much depth available for tactical strategy evolution in the direction our enemy is taking us. He needs America’s help here. He needs both 'Rosie the Riveter' and a ‘Manhattan Project’. We don't care what the future tactical equipment ends up being, but we believe we have to grab an already evolved high-yield solution and start making something happen. Our young soldiers and Marines will take it from there. And we have to be doing it 'outside the box', because our dearth of enemies are (outlined pretty well in John Robb's recent book, 'Brave New War').

Anyway, just ran across your blog and have favorited it. Great insights. When you get a chance, I would appreciate your thoughts on the program at www.americanagility.com You can also see Vicki Strong, one of the people featured recently on the ad campaign of Freedom's Watch. She has much more to say on the home page of American Agility than Daily Kos and MoveOn criticizes her for having an opinion on.

Posted by: groundforce at September 15, 2007 6:34 PM

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