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"the dumbest [expletive] guy on the planet".

That was Tommy Franks' take on Doug Feith, who prior to holding the job of undersecretary of defence for policy was known to have specialised in "technology transfer, joint ventures and foreign investment in the defence and aerospace industries" (resume) and "establishing joint ventures with leading US aerospace manufacturers for manufacture and sale of missile systems, to the US Department of Defence and worldwide" (website).

Feith's (non) accomplishments:


  • withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty (MIRV, launcher and decoy dance now "on")
  • a new policy on nuclear forces (first use is "on", tactical use is "on"),
  • a new policy of pre-emption to protect the US against attacks by weapons of mass destruction (Iraq, Iran, Syria and North Korea (and almost Lybia) are "on"),
  • the post-war planning for Iraq (yup), and
  • force posture review (goodby Western Europe, hello Central and Southeast Asia, and lots of spiffy new base and infrastructure buildouts, oil and gas aligned).

    • I share Tommy Franks' assessment.

    Originally posted on January 26, 2005.

    Update: Juan Cole has a transcript of Doug Feith on Wolf Blitzer's show, annotated for amusement.

    Posted by EBW on February 10, 2007 12:35 AM |

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    Comments

    If you were to take a breather from parroting this week's dKos talking points, and actually read Franks' autobiography, American Soldier, you would learn that this was not Franks' "take" on Feith.

    See p. 362:


    "Okay," I said, standing in the front of the room. "Here's the deal, guys. I know OSD--Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Feith--are demanding a lot. But they are not the enemy. Don't start thinking good guys--bad guys. We're all on the same side."
       They could see I was serious.
       "I'll worry about OSD, all of them--including Doug Feith, who's getting a reputation around here as the dumbest f*****g guy on the planet," I continued. "Your job is to make me feel warm and fuzzy. Look, we're all professionals. Let's earn our pay."

    Franks' "take" is precisely the opposite of what you portray. He was chastising his team for that mischaracterization.

    Posted by: goy | February 10, 2007 04:20 PM

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    (a) I don't read dKos, even when material has been cross-posted there, and (b) I wrote the piece 107 weeks ago, and (c) I do read Franks' take on Feith just as I wrote it, and understand you arrived at a different interpretation.

    Feel free to read Wampum less often, and dKos more often.

    Posted by: ebw | February 10, 2007 10:10 PM

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