October 5, 2009 at 4:42 pm ·
It’s late afternoon and my first visit to the West Hollywood Book Fair. I park at the Pacific Design Center and walk over. I catch Jordan Elgrably of the Levantine Center in conversation with Reza Aslan and Tamim Ansary on Art, Politics and the Arab Muslim World. The kernel of the hour long talk was that art and music are building bridges to the “Muslim world” that politicians, humanitarian relief, etc have failed to do. There was mention of many rock/electronic bands I didn’t recognize.
Other highlights of the fair include seeing Bob Barker of the Price is Right.
Posted by Christine Palma |
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Filed under: Events, Politics
May 18, 2009 at 11:22 pm ·
Tonight I went down to Santa Monica to the Rand Corporation, a private think tank focused on issues of national security, for a lecture given by Richard Haas on his new book War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars. Richard Haas served under Colin Powell during the second Bush presidency.
During the Q&A, he made a good point about the Obama’s decision to retain troops in Afghanistan for nation building as falling under the war of choice heading. His point about wars of choice was that they deserved a national dialogue or at least a wider deliberation process, something absent during the second war in Iraq.
Though both Iraq wars aimed to reign in Saddam Hussein, and both were run by men named Bush, the two conflicts were drastically different in planning and implementation. The first was a necessary war of limited scope that won broad international support and was well-executed. The second was a war of choice. Its ambitions were broad, its strategy poorly conceived and implemented. Key U.S. allies opposed the effort, and the country is still mired in ongoing conflict. As the world struggles to cope with the dangers posed by failed states, internecine conflicts, and religious extremism, the question of when the U.S. should go to war grows ever more urgent.
Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and author of War of Necessity, War of Choice: A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars, draws on his experience as a senior-level strategist during both Iraq wars to explain the lessons these wars have taught us, and how we can increase American military and diplomatic readiness for the next conflict.
Posted by Christine Palma |
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Filed under: Politics
June 25, 2007 at 10:28 pm ·
Does it pay to take a bullet for the Executive Branch?
Whether I. Lewis Libby sits in jail at all, no longer matters. His recent fame is enough to revive a flatlined literary career. St. Martins Press reissued his one book, “The Apprentice: A Novel”, published in 1996 during his 2005 indictment. Demand from booksellers led to a 25,000 copy reprint in paperback. At one point, used first editions of Libby’s book fetched as much as $2,400 on Amazon.com despite the consensus that this was an uninspired freshman attempt at a thriller. The novel is set in Japan with overtones of bestiality, pedophilia and rape to move the story forward.
When perjury becomes patriotism, and this brand of patriotism has a Presidential pardon attached, to be followed by cable news and talk show appearances upon his release, I can only imagine that a million dollar book deal and a tie-in cable program are in the offing. Add to that a writing partner and a literary pardon.
The dust jacket has already been written:
“…he has served the nation tirelessly and with great distinction… I have always considered him to be a man of the highest intellect, judgment and personal integrity…
-Vice President Dick Cheney
“I know Mr. Libby to be a patriot, a dedicated public servant, a strong family man, and a tireless, honorable, selfless human being. Our country is fortunate to have had his service.”
-Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense
I was deeply impressed by his dedication, seriousness, patriotism and essential decency.
-Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State
…he has helped us successfully navigate through the end of the Cold War, and… played a decisive role, after the terrorist attacks of 9-11, in the development of effective defenses for the country against a biological attack…
For more than four years, he drove himself day-after-day, often for twelve to fourteen hours per day, sometimes to the point of exhaustion, for no reason other than the enormous sense of responsibility he felt at having been placed in a position where he could make a major difference…
Mr. Libby has played an influential role… as an advisor to the Vice-President, in developing policy and strategy on a wide range of other issues, including responses to various terrorist threats, the North Korean nuclear issue, the problem of Yasir Arafat and the Middle East peace process, and the policy and strategy for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
-Paul Wolfowitz, former Deputy Secretary of Defense and former World Bank President
Scooter presented a personal interest in protecting the freedoms and rights of all Americans, men and women, of all races, religions and creeds… with a love of the Constitution… Scooter’s humane outlook on policy matters is consistent with the kind disposition he has towards people on the personal level.
-Douglas Feith, former Under-Secretary of Defense
We can look to Oliver North, on this the 20th anniversary of the Iran-Contra hearings. North’s “patriotism” has sold half-a-million copies of his books to date. North recently signed an eight-book deal with Christian house B&H Publishing Group.
In the May issue of Publisher’s Weekly, Rachel Deahl writes:
The contract calls for North to do four fiction titles plus four nonfiction titles based on his Fox News Channel show, War Stories. North will co-write the novels with Austin Boyd, a former navy pilot and published author.
B&H previously published North’s fiction—his military-inspired titles include Mission Compromised, Jericho Sanction and The Assassins—and, according to the publisher, his books have sold nearly 500,000 copies.
Moving forward, the house plans to aggressively market the former lieutenant colonel, releasing a new fiction and nonfiction title from him annually over the next four years, starting in 2008. B&H publisher David R. Shepherd said that the house will “double team the North publishing plan,” with groups from both the fiction and nonfiction sides working with him. North’s first book, from the planned War Stories tie-in series, is scheduled for April 2008.
I heard an excellent essay on PBS’ Bill Moyers Journal this week. Moyers quotes,
So it may well be, as THE HARTFORD COURANT said editorially, that Mr Libby is “a nice guy, a loyal and devoted patriot…but none of that excuses perjury or obstruction of justice. If it did, truth wouldn’t matter much.”
Does truth matter at all when it can be spun into a fictionalized or dramatized autobiography ala O. J. Simpson, Jessica Lynch, James Frey and Oliver North.
As for his writing career, despite Mr. Libby’s rising star meter among cable news and his apologists in the White House and GOP, no amount of PR can excuse an ill-conceived plot and cheap literary tricks. A presidential pardon for Libby erodes faith in American government. One more literary pardon, contributes to the decline of civilization.
Posted by Christine Palma |
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Filed under: Book Reviews, Middle East, Politics, Publishing
