Thursday, January 20, 2005
Honesty-induced vertigo
Posted by:
Hammer / 9:57 AM
From
The Australian:
And [Deputy Secretary of State Richard] Armitage's disappointments? Not a lugubrious person, Armitage doesn't nominate disappointments spontaneously. But he'll answer a question honestly: "I'm disappointed that Iraq hasn't turned out better. And that we weren't able to move forward more meaningfully in the Middle East peace process."
Then, after a minute's pause, he adds a third regret: "The biggest regret is that we didn't stop 9/11. And then in the wake of 9/11, instead of redoubling what is our traditional export of hope and optimism we exported our fear and our anger. And presented a very intense and angry face to the world. I regret that a lot."
I read this passage on a few other blogs. Each time, I thought the "third regret" was an editorial enhancement. Some blogger's view of what really should have troubled Armitage. Until I read the article in full, I didn't realize that Armitage was honestly assessing his tenure at State.
I'm glad we've had a few thoughtful people in powerful positions within the administration, and saddened even more that the thoughtful are being pushed out by the blindly loyal.