According to Coram, Cheney and others in the Pentagon were troubled by Schwartzkoph’s initial plan which was, as Cheney later put it to Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor, the authors of The Generals’ War “a high diddle diddle up the middle.” It is known that Boyd was quietly commuting to Washington at that time from his retirement home in Florida, and was allegedly being smuggled into the E-ring during off hours, and via back doors and freight elevators. During this period Boyd refused to discuss the matter with even his closest proteges and, in the process, unprecedentedly going so far as telling some of them to forget they had even had the conversation in which the subject was brought up. Even then, more than fifteen years after his “retirement”, Boyd was viewed as so radioactive by the uniformed brass (especially those of his own service, the Air Force), that it was feared that if his involvement became known it might generate insurmountable resistance to his inputs being accepted. Thus, in view of the likelihood that Schwartzkoph was dragged kicking and screaming into the famous “Left Hook” of Desert Storm, his apologia should be taken with a grain of salt.

In his life-long study of conflict, two of the core principles that Boyd derived are first that people are the key to successful outcomes, not equipment or tactics, and second that the moral element is key to people doing the right things. Accordingly, he reaffirmed Sun Tzu’s idea that the most successful strategist is the one who manages to achieve his goals without needing to actually fight. It has been a profound tragedy for the country that Cheney, for all his exposure to John Boyd’s ideas and ways of thinking, failed to absorb his most important insights.

PS: It’s unfortunate that I’m so untimely with this response, however I was within minutes of posting it this morning when my Comcast internet connection went dead for about four hours. Just getting caught up now.

But Cheney being in control of NORAD on 9/11…being so sure there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Cheney and Rummy probably sold them “off the books.”Halliburton sure did a lot of that during the war.

(h/t Hmmm)

De nada, Marcy, but thank you kindly.

Leen @ 12 – “Wonder how many times those who were just ‘following orders’ called up line and asked whether they could stop with the torture all ready?” — Insert obligatory “Wonder if the NSA intercepted those calls and have copies or transcripts?”.

dosido @ 52 – “So the ticking time bomb scenario is really about time running out to produce evidence for Dick’s opportunity to bomb Iraq? That’s the time pressure that justified this in Darth Cheney’s mind.” — Wow, I think you win for insight of the day here: The ticking time PR bomb.