Geopolitics

It's probably too much reading of Advise and Consent early in life ( I loved Allen Drury's stuff) , but the concept of geopolitics has always fascinated me. Whether the motivation of the actor is totally pragmatic (for example, Henry Kissinger) or ideologically pure (Jimmy Carter), whether its in keeping with the domestic persona (Ronald Reagan) or contrary to it (Richard Nixon), the image of someone pursuing an agenda which is more than ad hoc, more than 'us good them bad', fascinates me. Reading Kissinger's comments, particularly, is amazing to me, because his attitude toward the world was simply 'Take it as it is, not as you wish it to be, and deal with it in a way that optimizes your take from the transaction.' He would have substantially reduced US involvement in Israel, for one thing, and more than once I've wondered how the world would have been different had he been able to accomplish that. Similarly, thougn the image of the Paris Peace Talks relevant to the Vietnam War is mostly one of wasted time and a despised enemy being treated as an equal, the idea of 'end it now, however you can' rings true. Too bad it didn't work, but the concept was good.

So when I see Bush off to India saying how wonderful outsourcing is, I try hard to believe that he is doing it from the perspective of Kissinger. Not that I think Bush is in his league, in any way (though possibly Rice is), but if he is motivated by the attitude 'Outsourcing happens, you aren't going to make it go away, so optimize the response to get the best deal you can out of the situation', then it at least makes sense to me. I still don't trust Bush, but the comments and pronouncements make coherent sense.

If, howver, he's just saying it because thats what was on the index card they gave him to read, its not nearly so cogent an image.