Overflow

Eric Umansky at Slate came up with the perfect word for the faction in the Bush Administration that is pushing for this global dominance model of forcibly spreading democracy worldwide — “conservatopians”. Brilliant.

The “Conservatopians” (Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Cheney) don’t like the Powell doctrine of “overwhelming force.” In order to realize their vision, they need to be able to deploy “force quickly and with dramatic positive effect in multiple places at multiple times.”

But it’s looking like the Conservatopian approach was the wrong choice for Iraq. We need “overwhelming force.” The Powel Doctrine still rules.

And if we don’t use the Powell doctrine in any conflict in North Korea (which is up next, IMO) we’ll be very sorry.

So this “operational pause” and the seeming switch in strategy is a good sign to me. Maybe it means that President Bush is going to listen to Powell and the C.I.A. more and the Conservatopians less. I think Bush should listen to Colin Powell. Let the State Department, and not the Pentagon, run our foriegn policy. Ultimately it will mean fewer lives lost. And fewer ill-advised wars.

More immediately, tossing aside Rummy’s ambitions and rediscovering the Powell Doctrine will ultimately save lives. What’s bad for the Conservatopians is good for America.