LOBOTOMY

Veteran neo-con advisor moves on Iran (Jim Lobe, 6/26/03, Asia Times)

When The Washington Post published a list of the people whom Karl Rove, President George W Bush's closest advisor, regularly consults for advice outside the administration, foreign policy veterans were shocked when Michael Ledeen popped up as the only full-time international affairs analyst.

"The two met after Bush's election," the Post reported cheerfully, quoting Ledeen about Rove's request that "any time you have a good idea, tell me". "More than once, Ledeen has seen his ideas, faxed to Rove, become official policy or rhetoric," noted the newspaper.

"When I saw that, I couldn't believe it," said one retired senior diplomat. "But then again, with this administration, it seemed frighteningly plausible." [...]

Throughout his career, Ledeen has insisted that war and violence are integral parts of human nature and derided the notion that peace can be negotiated between two nations.

Though America is often portrayed as naive and idealistic, these days it is only Americans who still understand that human nature is fairly base and extraordinarily selfish. Mr. Lobe, the Left, and Europe all share a vision of man as rather peaceful and communal. They're wrong. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 26, 2003 9:24 AM