Father of the Bush Doctrine

Daniel Henninger writes about his interview with former Secretary of State George Schultz. Here is one interesting passage:

"I wonder out loud whether this view made people nervous back then. GS: 'President Reagan thought it was OK, but there were a lot of people that didn't.' DH: 'Now it's part of the Bush doctrine.' GS: 'I think the idea that you would do everything you can to prevent what is coming at you by way of something very disruptive -- a 9/11 -- it's a no-brainer.'

Was a no-brainer. President Bush's approval rating is in the dumpster, and much of the public is discomfited by the violent reports out of Iraq, which ironically are the product of the same mentality that killed the Marines in 1983. The Iraq war may or may not turn out well, but clearly now it is in a dark moment. When I put this to the former secretary of state, his response, characteristically, is optimism: 'I think this is the most promising moment, almost, in the history of the world -- a time when the information age has made it clear to people what it takes for them to get ahead in their lives and succeed, to have prosperity, to have growth, and it's a critical matter not to have that great opportunity aborted by a wave of radically inspired terrorists. So we have to confront this, and we have to do it on a sustainable basis because it's going to take a long time.'"

Isn't this an interesting point, and one worth much contemplation? It is possible in this day and age to understand the conditions necessary to experience economic prosperity. While it is possible, it seems that even in our own prosperous country it is a lesson relatively few have come to understand.