or Powell's or me• • •
"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
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"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
November 07, 2007
Kissinger and Bin Laden's Dovish Worldview
In 1972, Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger discussed how they should attack North Vietnam. The hawkish Nixon wanted to use WMD on civilians. But Kissinger was a dove: he argued they shouldn't do this because it would make America look bad:
NIXON: I still think we ought to take the dikes out now. Will that drown people?KISSINGER: About two hundred thousand people.
NIXON: No, no, no...I'd rather use the nuclear bomb. Have you got that, Henry?
KISSINGER: That, I think, would just be too much...
NIXON: The only place where you and I disagree...is with regard to the bombing. You're so goddamned concerned about civilians and I don't give a damn. I don't care.
KISSINGER: I'm concerned about the civilians because I don't want the world to be mobilized against you as a butcher.
In the late nineties, members of Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden discussed how to attack America. The hawks within Al Qaeda wanted to use WMD on civilians. But bin Laden was a dove: he argued they shouldn't do this because it would make Muslims look bad:
Bin Laden was cool at first to the use of biological or chemical weapons, but he found himself at odds with Abu Hafs, who led the hawks in the al-Qaeda debate about the ethics and consequences of using such indiscriminate agents. Would they be used in Muslim lands? Would civilians be targeted? The doves argued that the use of any weapon of mass destruction would turn the sympathy of the world against the Muslim cause...
—The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
There is a significant difference here, however: in al Qaeda, the dove was the man ultimately in charge.
EARLIER: Kissinger and bin Laden's similar views on the importance of humiliating others.
Posted at November 7, 2007 07:29 AM | TrackBackThe Nixon tapes are truly a gift from the gods. When have we ever gotten such a clear look into the center of power? What tool do we have that more effectively destroys the myth that our leaders are wise and judicious men, who are working for the public good?
I say we place a statue of Nixon in every town square (do towns still have squares?) with a speaker at the base that plays, over and over, the choicest bits.
Or, in a slightly more practical vein, disseminate as widely as possible through youtube video all the "good stuff" from the tapes, with images of a scowling Nixon, napalmed children, mushroom clouds, etc. At the end, tack on a bit of praise for the man by one of the Presidents who spoke at his funeral.
Let's encourage everyone to begin their day with a lil' bit o' Nixon.
Man, I LOVE seeing Nixon quoted. Every time I watch Futurama, I laugh at their Nixon head-in-a-jar, thinking, "Man, that's so over-the-top!" But, holy shit, they can't trump reality. He actually said that stuff! Oh my god!
Posted by: saurabh at November 7, 2007 11:12 AMONE DAY Dick Cheney's head in a jar. (of course the pike will be removed or sawed off or something)
Posted by: Mike Meyer at November 7, 2007 01:28 PMAwww, that's so sweet - a peek into history. The Hen and the Dick - chatting.
Reminds me somewhat of Ellsberg's "Secrets," in which he lays out several presidents' unwillingness to be thought the one to "lose Vietnam" but also to try not to be the one thought to be a mass murderer. Guess which view always won?
Posted by: catherine at November 7, 2007 01:58 PMAt Tricky's funeral in 1994, Henry the K described him as one of our country's "seminal presidents."
So true. So funny. So sad.
The technical term for Kissinger's argument is "the moral high ground." As in, "We can't torture people, because we would lose the moral high ground." It seems harmless enough, until you follow the premise further: "Instead, we should send people to other nations which will torture them, so we can deny having anything to do with it and retain the moral high ground."
Posted by: 01d55 at November 8, 2007 03:50 AMShit. Maybe Kissinger deserved that Nobel Peace Prize after all...
Posted by: Dunc at November 8, 2007 07:20 AM
