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Coming up with the evidence Life in an Alternate UniverseBy Rick Horowitz
"...boys and girls, let's settle down, shall we? I take it you've all received the revised reading list, including those three new journal articles. I'll expect you to have them read for next Monday's class -- and yes, Mr. Curtin, it will be on the midterm, or wasn't that your question?" "Yup." "Glad we've cleared that up for you, Mr. Curtin. Now, we've got a bit of a surprise for all of you today. You know we try to make Gov. 201 more than just a collection of articles and lectures, no matter how interesting they might be. If I've said it once -- " "You've said it a dozen times."
"My computer crashed again." "Then get it fixed again, Mr. Schoonmaker. Anyway, under Pentagon ground rules, I can't identify our guest by name -- we'll just call him 'Mr. Smith' -- but I know you'll find his work quite fascinating, perhaps even provocative, if that's not too much to ask at this hour of the morning. Sir? The floor is all yours." "Well, thank you, Prof. Mobley, and hello, class -- it's a pleasure to be with you. My name is -- well, irrelevant, but -- " "I thought it was Smith!" "Moving right along..." "Thank you, professor. Anyway, I've been employed at the Pentagon since the spring of 2002, in the Office of Finding Whatever We Want, or, as we like to refer to it, F3W. Now, F3W is, by Pentagon standards, a relatively small shop, but don't let that fool you -- we've got a great deal of influence in developing this administration's policies toward the rest of the world." "'Whatever We Want'?" "Exactly. You see, after 9/11, there was a crying need for more intelligence about our enemies, and our potential enemies. And not just more intelligence, but better intelligence. Intelligence that squared with what we already knew in our gut. Ties between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein, for instance. A secret meeting in a European capital between one of the 9/11 hijackers and one of Saddam's agents. Things like that." "And when you say 'we'..." "I mean former Secretary Rumsfeld, and Mr. Wolfowitz. And of course, the vice president. When it comes to undiscovered intelligence about foreign threats, the vice president has always had the best gut of them all -- he knows exactly what he expects to find." "And then you find it for him." "Well, we do all we can. The vice president isn't an easy man to please, but we hate to disappoint him, so naturally we'll make every effort to produce the information he needs." "You just make it up?!" "No, no, no -- not at all! We wouldn't dream of making anything up! It's all a question of emphasis, of selective editing. And careful phrasing -- we're extremely careful with our phrasing. At F3W, we provide what we like to characterize as a 'critique' of mainstream intelligence. An 'alternative' view, if you will." "So you ignore what doesn't fit." "We focus on different aspects. The CIA isn't perfect, you know." "So you ignore what doesn't fit, and then you attack Iraq." "OK, class, let's keep it civil! Our guest has taken time out of a very busy schedule -- " "Getting ready to attack Iran?" " -- to be with us today, and we'll treat him with courtesy. Sorry, you were saying...?" "Not a problem. Actually, I'm glad to see your students so engaged, although I am a bit surprised by the anger I'm sensing. A lot of classes understand exactly what we're doing, and why it's so important that we're doing it." "A lot of classes don't have brothers in the Marines." "Oh." Posted 2/13/07. Make
"Rick's" part of your education -- and tell your friends!
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Rick Horowitz
