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Neocon Coup at the Department d'�tat
August 6, 2003
By MAUREEN DOWD
WASHINGTON
Let others fight over whether the war in Iraq was a neocon
vigilante action disrupting diplomacy. The neocons have
moved on to a vigilante action to occupy diplomacy.
The audacious ones have saddled up their pre-emptive steeds
and headed off to force a regime change at Foggy Bottom.
President Bush staged a Texan tableau vivant last night,
playing host at his ranch to the secretary of state, his
wife, Alma, and his deputy, Richard Armitage. Mr. Bush
wanted to show solidarity after a Washington Post story on
Monday that said that Colin Powell, under pressure from his
wife, said he would not be part of a second Bush term, nor
would Mr. Armitage.
Mr. Bush might be trying to signal his respect for Mr.
Powell, but the president is not always privy to the start
of a grandiose neocon scheme.
The scene was reminiscent of last August in Crawford, when
Mr. Bush dismissed press "churning" that the administration
was on the verge of striking Iraq, saying, "When I say I'm
a patient man, I mean I'm a patient man and that we will
look at all options and we will consider all technologies
available to us, and diplomacy and intelligence."
We all know how that turned out.
When the neocons want
something done, they'll get it done, no matter what Mr.
Bush thinks. And they think Mr. Powell has downgraded the
top cabinet post into a human resources job, making
nicey-nice with the U.N. and assorted bad guys instead of
pursuing the neocon blueprint for world domination through
what James Woolsey calls World War IV (World War III being
the cold war.)
Countering the Post story, Mr. Powell's posse claimed that
neither the secretary of state nor his deputy had ever said
they intended to step down, and charged that the neocons
were leaking a canard to turn the two men they consider
lame doves into lame ducks.
"This is the revenge of the neocons for two months of bad
news, looking like they're falling all over themselves in
Iraq," said a Powell confidant, noting that Alma Powell was
furious she had been dragged in.
In The Post, nearly all of the names of those who could
move up if Mr. Powell moves out are Iraq hawks: Condi Rice,
Paul Wolfowitz and Newt Gingrich were mentioned as
candidates for secretary of state; Wolfie, Cheney Chief of
Staff Scooter Libby and Condi deputy Steve Hadley, who may
be radioactive after the uranium mistake, were mentioned
for national security chief.
Mr. Wolfowitz has been tacitly campaigning for the jobs. He
told Charlie Rose about his vice-regal trip to Iraq, where
he said at last grateful Iraqis were thronging. "As we
would drive by, little kids would run up to the road and
give us a thumbs up sign," he said. (At least he thought it
was the thumb.)
The move against the popular Powell had all the earmarks of
the neocons' pre-emptive strike on Iraq.
1.) Demonize. Reiterating his speech trashing Foggy Bottom
last April for propping up dictators and coddling the
corrupt, Mr. Gingrich - a Rummy ally who serves on the
Defense Policy Board - called for "top-to-bottom reform and
culture shock" at State in an article in the July Foreign
Policy magazine.
2.) Sex-up the intelligence. The leakers spread word that
Mr. Armitage told Condi that he and Mr. Powell would leave
on Jan. 21, 2005, the day after the next presidential
inauguration. "Nonsense," said Mr. Powell. "Nonsense," said
Mr. Armitage.
3.) Create a false rationale. Everyone knew the pair might
not stay for a second term. But the neocons were impatient
to give them a push, blaming poor Alma Powell for
henpecking her husband when they were.
4.) Bring about regime change.
5.) Fail to prepare for
the aftermath. "Newt as secretary of state?" sneered one
Powell pal. "Hel-lo?"
6.) Make sure it's good for Ariel Sharon. Just as the
neocons made their move on Mr. Powell, pro-Israel hawks
scorned the secretary for not being on their team in the
peace process. Israel's supporters scoffed at the new
threat to cut loan guarantees as a State Department policy,
not a White House policy.
7.) Ignore the real threat. While the neocons are
preoccupying the country with Iraq and a coup at the
department d'�tat, Al Qaeda may have blown up a Marriott in
Indonesia and are plotting attacks here.
8.) Change the subject. Next stop, North Korea.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/06/opinion/06DOWD.html?ex=1061283748&ei=1&en=79ac34710fdbb6b5
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