Deep Throat Returns: Insider Notes from the Pentagon

Crimes of Omission

26 December 2002

This country, and our military, has been blessed with great ideas, great resources, great leadership and great people over the past 200 plus years. But after opening up all the presents we received this year, some things were missing in 2002.

For example, the new National Security Policy in September contained a lot of nice patriotic words. But in describing 21^st century energy supplies for the United States, it only mentioned oil from Western Hemisphere, Africa, the Caspian and Central Asia. Omitted was the Persian Gulf region, even though 70% of the oil resides there, and our U.S. and global dependence on Persian Gulf oil is continuing to rise – no way around it.

On 23 December, Secretary Rumsfeld got testy with the press on North Korea and blurted out that we can fight two wars in two theaters, winning one quickly and winning the other one less quickly, but no problem just the same. This was déjà vu all over again for the man who returned to the Pentagon to correct the lies contained in past Quadrennial Defense Reviews.

Two days later in the Washington Times, ubiquitous talking head retired Colonel Ken Allard added back in what Rumsfeld left out. “[W]e do not have the means, the manpower or the strategy to actually do that. We simply lack sufficient ground forces, sufficient airlift, sufficient sea lift to do those things."

Then there was big-four Defense Under Secretaries “town hall” meeting last week. The final question related to the role and impact of mostly unaccountable Defense Policy Board headed by Richard Perle. Doug Feith, Under Secretary for Policy, took the question, listing all the ways the Defense Policy Board contributed to his work.

He talked about how Perle and his board share their insights on Asia, Europe and Latin America, and discuss the odd interesting topic and develop new perspectives. That’s funny, when you survey public statements and commentary by Defense Policy Board members Richard Perle, Newt Gingrich, James Woolsey, Ken Adelman, Eliot Cohen, and Henry Kissinger you find they have nothing to say about these regions or issues. The only thing they talk and write about is Iraq under Saddam, the Middle East, the security of Israel, and Iraq after Saddam.

I guess under the cameras and lights, Feith forgot to mention that. He also didn’t mention that in a former life, Feith worked for Richard Perle in this same five-sided building. Heck, maybe he still does.

Aldous Huxley said, “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.”

It is pretty clear the Pentagon leadership does not agree with Huxley. They studiously avoid mention of Persian Gulf oil, two front wars we cannot fight well, and the Likud-leaning thinktankers determined to create a new Middle East direct from the Pentagon E-ring.

Securing America and Americans (while preserving and honoring the Constitution), pursuing criminal and terrorist elements who actually (as opposed to “theoretically”) threaten our freedom, and creating a strong defense (not an adventuristic offense to secure the New Empire) are what Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith and Perle should be articulating. They are not. Well, everybody has a blind spot or two, or three.

Not agreeing with a Huxley quotation is perfectly acceptable. Continual obfuscation in the media while expecting to be taken seriously is delusional.

Creating an experimental imperialistic war on the backs of the all-volunteer military and the reserves while arrogantly lying about why it is required is downright criminal.

The crime of omission occurs when you violate or disregard your accepted duties and responsibilities. Public servants are far more likely than most to be prosecuted for crimes of omission.

And while we won’t get the choice, prosecution now would probably be a lot more interesting than reading their revisionist McNamara’esque memoirs in 2020!