Outside the Beltway

Dumb and Dumber

James Joyner
9

Comments

Thomas Barnett:

Me? I like my politicians slower and dumber than my businessmen. I see safety and prosperity in that.

Beyond that, I want my military slower and dumber than my politicians. I see the preservation of freedom in that.

And beyond all that, I want my intell agencies slower and dumber than my military. I prefer my sins to be of commission rather than omission, and a better CIA would be more trouble than it’s worth.

Me? I like my politicians, generals, and intel analysts all to be as fast and smart as possible.

Categories

,

Tags

9 responses to “Dumb and Dumber”

  1. Dave Schuler Avatar
    Dave Schuler

    The issue is one of relative competence not absolute competence and I think that Barnett has a point.

  2. legion Avatar
    legion

    Dave,
    Agreed, as far as it goes. But when your high-water mark for smartness is George Bush, the jokes kinda write themselves.

    And are necessary to keep one from slitting one’s wrists.

  3. wolfwalker Avatar
    wolfwalker

    I would like my politicians, generals, and spooks to be as smart, fast, honest, and honorable as possible. For the crooked ones, however, slow and stupid is definitely good, and the more the better.

  4. Scott_T Avatar
    Scott_T

    Yeah, a slow and dumb CIA.

    What could be wrong with that?

    Oh yeah. 4 manned Cruise-missiles flying in the air towards targets in the USA.

  5. Christopher Avatar
    Christopher

    Comment in violation of site policies deleted.

  6. Sean Hackbarth Avatar
    Sean Hackbarth

    Time to put on my cynical cap: With politicians, military men, and intelligence agents slower and dumber it makes the businessmen and consultants charge that much more for their services.

    And that’s from a guy who has read much of what Barnett has written and thinks he’s one of the most important thinkers around.

  7. Tom Barnett Avatar
    Tom Barnett

    Sean,

    That’s pretty funny!

    Seriously, as Dave’s point makes clear, the post was a relativistic ranking that says I trust the private sector more than the government to get things right, especially at this point in global history.

    Think about that: who are the great thinkers of our age? And where do they hail from?

    Think that’s an accident?

    As for the SLCMs zeroing in, I would put my trust more in the defense sector figuring out that problem rather than CIA picking up the intent.

  8. Tom Barnett Avatar
    Tom Barnett

    Having commented twice now (stuck in a boring–meaning way too technical–Oak Ridge conference on climate change), let me say this is a great blog!

    Having said that, let me now provide a quick link to my penis-enlargement drug site, because, judging by the spam my site gets, that’s the logical next thing to do after offering such a compliment.

  9. The Florida Masochist Avatar
    The Florida Masochist

    This comment thread has me terribly confused.

    Manned Cruise missiles? Are terrorists perfecting a new form of kamikaze tactics?

    SLCM? At first I thought someone was referring to South Louisville Community Misitries. A quick double take showed SLCM also stood for Submarine launched cruise missiles.

    Showing my Naval ignorance. I spent ten years in that branch of the military mostly saying- ‘Take a deep breath and hold it.’

    So if the missiles are manned by terrorists, and coming from a submarine, who supplie AQ(insert the terrorist organization of your choice) with a submersible?

    Please someone enlighten me.

    Cheers,

    Bill aka The Florida Masochist

    PS- Read the description of my blog and you’ll be able to understand this post better.

Latest Posts