The main problem with the doctrine is that it demands absolutes. Bush is notorious for reflecting a simple black-and-white worldview in his speeches and public pronouncements. The world contains good guys and bad guys, us and them. The bad guys might be states or they might be non-state actors, but they all have one thing in common: they threaten our interests and mean us harm. They must therefore be dealt with mercilessly before they have the chance to strike. Yet if there is one thing we have learned from the Iraq conflict, it is that intelligence is rarely black and white. Instead it expresses shades of grey, percentages and probability over which careful judgements must be made. Very often, intelligence will prove nothing, and smoking guns are a rather rare phenomena. But to convince a sceptical media and voters that a pre-emptive strike is justified, the case must be proved - and it must be done in advance, before any evidence can actually be gathered.
http://www.spiked-online.com/Printable/00000006DEAB.htm
Wednesday, August 6, 2003
Popular Posts
-
Some good stuff from a Canadian futurist: - The rising power of the knowledge worker - Continuous training replaces job security; respect is...
-
Very dry, dull book with some basic financial info like ROI and cash flow. Not a lot here.
-
I had the pleasure to attend the IBM Think conference in wet and chilly San Fran from Feb 11-14th of this year. The event overall was ...
-
It's been almost exaclty three years since I've updated this blog. In that three years, I've achieved a lot -- I've gone aft...
-
Not a bad audio book, but I expected more. Big ideas: Build a high performance, high-trust culture; Identify desired results and un...
-
Here's my (edited) journal entry for this event dated 12/01/98: Wow. I just sessioned and started reading "The Tao of Physics...
-
Nother confirmation Of einstein... the first images of light escaping a black hole show that they lose energy. In this case, it was a superm...
-
Brad Dalton is the first to admit his theory is far-fetched: that bacteria could account for odd light emissions, as well as the reddish hue...
-
Increasingly, the overstretched and overburdened have a new answer to work lives of gunning harder for what seems like less and less: Dont j...
-
I'm sure someone else has written the rules of business out in terms of the Bushido, but here's my take: Truthfulness You must speak...