Wall Street Journal REVIEW & OUTLOOK February 26, 2004 Perle's Goodbye Richard Perle has resigned from the Defense Policy Board, and therein lies a tale of modern Washington.
"Despite repeated disclaimers, my membership on the Defense Policy Board has led many people who see my articles, books and television appearances to associate my views with those of the administration or the Department of Defense," Mr. Perle wrote recently to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. "I would not wish those views to be attributed to you or the President at any time, and especially not during a presidential campaign." This is the country's loss. Mr. Perle is well known for his strong opinions, but that's precisely his value. The Policy Board's charter tasks it with providing "independent, informed advice and opinion concerning matters of defense policy." Contrary to the myth that Mr. Perle's enemies have encouraged, the board does not make policy. Its sole purpose is to give the Secretary of Defense a broader point of view than he gets inside the Pentagon. Members are unpaid volunteers. But that no longer seems to count for much in today's toxic Washington environment. Mr. Perle became a political target because his board membership might tar Administration hawks by association. "Conflicts of interest" were alleged but proven to be phony. As chairman for a time, he was even attacked for the sin of inviting an expert on Saudi Arabia to explain why the U.S. ought to have a contingency plan for taking over the Saudi oil fields. That is precisely the kind of forward thinking any Defense Secretary needs to hear. Mr. Perle will still be heard in private life, but it'd be a shame if the defense board became just another gang of cautious Beltway time-servers.
