"The One Percent Doctrine" by Ron Suskind

Posted by J

The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of Its Enemies Since 9/11
by Ron Suskind

http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0743271092/ref=pd_rvi_gw_1/102-8358167-0404956

3.5 stars. This book was recommended to me by a political science professor as "scary" and certainly didn't disappoint. The sort of book that both right-wingers and left-wingers could both agree that the term "scary" is appropriate, though for different reasons. Those on the right looking for corroboration of their fearful view of the world and of an Al-Qaeda and terrorists supposedly threatening our very existence will find what they consider justification and a sympathetic ear from the author in this book. Those on the left (and old school Constitutional literalist conservatives) seeing abandonment of civil rights/the Constitution and an immoral embrace of tyrants, torture and political poisoning of the intelligence process will similarly find justification and a sympathetic author.

Book is well-written, but the last 100 pages or so (out of about 350) drag on and are filled more with rather aimless musings. Most of the book has as much stitched-together detail and revelations of how the USG has operated since 9/11 as you're likely to find anywhere.

The key thesis is that America's "war on terror" has been guided by Dick Cheney's "One Percent Doctrine" which states essentially that if there's even a 1% chance that a threat could be real, it must be treated as absolute certainty and physically and forecefully attacked regardless of whether it ever comes to fruition. Right alongside this goes the belief by Cheney that it is the forcefulness of American actions above all, not the actual proof of a threat that is countered, which will deter terrorists from striking. Bush is portrayed as a gut-instinct actor who (never one for detail) found he liked the opportunity this theory gave to act in his natural manner of aggressive, always certain of some vague core belief, never-wavering leader acting from his gut. In a nutshell: the one percent doctrine doesn't require facts to be right, they require America in Cheney and Bush's view to scare "the terrorists" and their sympathizers so much, and keep them so busy responding to mad-dog America, that the new terrorists are scared out of existence and the existing terrorists are too busy to strike America again.

Of course, the flip sides are numerous. The ones Suskind raises focus on the manner in which reality is thrown out the window, the professionals in the intelligence gathering process are ignored for purposes of making policy and only used to justify Bush's "gut" and Cheney's bunker mentality, a war was launched in Iraq (as a supposed example which would scare the Arab and Islamic world into submission) which has made things much worse, the real terrorists have gotten smarter and more strategic and left the USG increasingly blind to what they're really up to, and other such issues.

What Suskind doesn't get into at all is the broader strategic failings of Bush, Cheney and Co. By which I refer to (1) their inability (and complete lack of desire) to understand how things look from the Arab and Islamic worlds. That there is a long history of bad American policy which has created the rage that built terrorism (primarily a decade of Iraqi sanctions, support for secular Arab dictators who do America and Israel's bidding, and above all blind allegiance to Israel and callousness towards the Palestinians) and that Cheney's shoot-first-and-never-ask-questions-especially-not-of-the-civilians-you're-killing-in-the-process is throwing gasoline on that fire. Exacerbated by the most blatant and ugly embrace of Israeli brutality of any American administration ever (and there's stiff historical competition). (2) Suskind never questions the notion that America is genuinely under mortal threat. Yeah, there's dangerous guys running around with dangerous plans to commit some heinous plans, but folks, America itself can't be destroyed by any of these guys attacks. Yes, they need to be fought and countered as with any other mass murderer, but the Sarin gas attacks on Tokyo didn't destroy Japanese democracy, 9/11 never had any hope of bringing down the Constitution of the United States, and even the worst nightmare scenarios the CIA can conjure up don't of themselves involve the abandonment of our system of law and democracy or for that matter even outpace heart disease for the number of deaths they would cause. Priorities people, priorities. The only way Al-Qaeda wins (which Suskind does hint at several times in the book, especially near the end) is if they alter the worldview of Americans to the point that we ourselves undermine the Constitution and our long-fought rights. And again, not mentioned by Suskind, but the only way Al-Qaeda wins is if they manage to switch the majority of people in the Arab and Muslim world that there is an inevitable apocalyptic clash between them and America coming. Bin Laden was never able to do that on his own (9/11 created more sympathy for America in the Middle East than anger at first), but Bush and Cheney's wars, torture, secrecy, and destruction of rights at home in America are convincing more and more people in the Arab worlds that such is the case and fuelling the ranks of those who want to join the fight.