More Historical Perspective

This time from Michael Barone at U.S. News, today; he also slaps around "old" media:

Two tragic bombings in baghdad and Najaf last month and the continuing attacks on American soldiers in some parts of Iraq have led many to call for more troops in Iraq or for Americans to withdraw. Cries are heard that we are in a Vietnam-like quagmire. Those inclined to make straight-line extrapolations from the events of a few news cycles should read some history. Margaret MacMillan's Paris 1919 shows how the Allied leaders who gathered at the peace conference in Paris were largely clueless about how to reconstruct the defeated nations after World War I. Jean Edward Smith's biography of Gen. Lucius Clay reveals that the first time he read the government's plans for post-World War II Germany was on the flight over there to take charge. William Manchester's American Caesar shows that Douglas MacArthur, however knowledgeable about the Far East, did not have clear ideas on how to rule postwar Japan. Clay and MacArthur improvised, learned from experience, made mistakes, and corrected them, adjusted to circumstances. It took time: West Germany did not have federal elections until 1949, four years after surrender; the peace treaty with Japan was not signed until 1951.

Today's media have a zero-defect standard: the Bush administration should have anticipated every eventuality and made detailed plans for every contingency. This is silly. A good second-grade teacher arrives in class with a lesson plan but adapts and adjusts to pupils' responses and the classroom atmosphere. A good occupying power does the same thing....

See Historical Perspective: How refreshing.

(Thanks, Peter.)

Lane Core Jr. CIW P — Mon. 09/22/03 12:01:37 PM
Categorized as Media.