On Wolfowitz:
freerepublic.com
Two ex-Cabinet members--former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney and Secretary of State George Shultz--are actively helping Bush the younger. But the most interesting national security adviser is Paul Wolfowitz, a preeminent foreign-policy hard-liner. Now dean of international relations at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, he was an assistant secretary of state and undersecretary of defense in Republican administrations.
Like Lindsey, Wolfowitz is new to Bush and has quickly emerged as one of the governor's brain-trust favorites. Wolfowitz's close friend and ally Richard Perle is expected in Austin soon for his first visit with Bush. Taking an even harder line than Wolfowitz, Perle was the Reagan administration's ``prince of darkness' as assistant defense secretary, often at odds with Shultz.
The budding Bush brain trust is unusual because it precedes a campaign team. But that is understandable for a Republican presidential front-runner who is a blank page when it comes to foreign and much of national policy. If the brain trust reflects who the governor would put in office if elected president, his administration would be to the right not only of his father's but of Reagan's.
Cheney is not only a former Defense Secretary, he is also a senior officer of Halliburton, with what are usually called "close ties" at all levels of the oil industry. Expect deep interest and involvement in all matters involving the middle east.
Wolfowitz is also a central figure among the "China peril" wing of the foreign policy establishment.
Bush - who is not strong in foreign affairs, and is unlikely to challenge his advisers - seems to be assembling a foreign policy team of hardcore cold war veterans, many of whom seem unwilling to admit that the world has changed a bit since those days. Which raises the specter of vast expenditures to prepare for the challenges of the past, with insufficient energy devoted to the challenges of the future.
I see your point on Ms. Rice, but she simply doesn't have the resume for State or the UN, and putting her there would be a pretty egregious act of tokenism. I'd expect to see her in some lesser role, but frequently appearing as spokesperson.
It seems that she hasn't published a great deal; have you seen anything indicative of her views? |
