Conversations with History: Institute
of International Studies, UC Berkeley
This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations
with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the public
Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.
Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry
Kreisler of the Institute
of International Studies. Our guest today is Jim Fallows, who is the national
correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly.
- Aftermath of 9/11 ... striking
the right tone with Muslims ... Afghanistan ... premature shift of resources
to Iraq attack ... reasons for preoccupation with Iraq
- The Bush Administration's Blinders
... big gestures ... inattention to detail ... dark worldview of Cheny ...
Rice's dismissal of differing opinions ... firing governmental experts ...
optimistic public face ... scorn for lessons of nineties ... genuine internal
optimism ... Republican triumphalism ... failure of Democrats to dissent ...
little choice but to believe WMD threats
- The Press since 9/11 ... hawkish
turn in New York and Washington media establishment ... longer trend of media
as business ... spectacle ... high costs of foreign coverage ... the new media
- Technology ... sudden shift in
national dialogue about military technology ... vulnerability to a low-tech
enemy ... terrorists choose not to engage high-tech forces ... Rumsfeld's
modernization theory ... overextension of the military ... learning in the
Bush administration
- American Idealism and Foreign Policy
... balancing idealism with pragmatism ... Bush's absolutist rhetoric ...
sobering realities of war ... long-term strategy ... rationalizing homeland
security ... presenting the right model ... freedom versus justice
- Conclusion ... a sobering "separate
facts" universe ... some optimism for mideast democracy ... public opposition
to the war
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