Epstein Secrets

e Action Council for the Balkans, which was agitating for a more muscular policy against Slobodan Milosevic. We advocated military intervention in Bosnia much sooner than it happened. I remember a lively exchange with Colin Powell when I questioned the Powell doctrine of "we do deserts but we don't

for the possibility that we may be wrong, and he has no tolerance for dissenting opinion. If you are not with us you are against us, he proclaims. Donald Rumsfeld berates our European allies who disagree with him on Iraq in no uncertain terms, and he has a visceral aversion to international cooperation, be i

iban and al-Qaeda were alien oppressors. But having won a resounding military victory, we failed to follow through with nation building. Secretary Rumsfeld opposed the extension of UN peacekeeping beyond Kabul, and, as a result, law and order have still not been fully established outside the capital.

e failed to follow through with nation building. Secretary Rumsfeld opposed the extension of UN peacekeeping beyond

ecent years, and civilian policy tools—not having demonstrated comparable potency since perhaps the 1995 Dayton Agreement that ended hostilities in Bosnia—have lost stature and credibility compared to the military. Congressional funding has reflected the belief that DoD, alone among cabinet department

istances. In a 75-minute conversation, Hagel gave me his version of the Middle East crisis tour. Talking with him, I found, was not like talking to Donald Rumsfeld. Interviewing Rumsfeld at this table was like interviewing a razor blade; one wrong move and you'd get cut. Hagel, on the other hand, is tranquil,

rsation, Hagel gave me his version of the Middle East crisis tour. Talking with him, I found, was not like talking to Donald Rumsfeld. Interviewing Rumsfeld at this table was like interviewing a razor blade; one wrong move and you'd get cut. Hagel, on the other hand, is tranquil, conversational, and ver

ve military has become a constant source of frustration to civilian leaders. Irritated by the Pentagon's hesitation to put "boots on the ground" in Bosnia, then- Secretary of State Madeline Albright famously demanded of Secretary of Defense Colin Powell, "What good is this marvellous military force if

g infantries and saturation bombing, and apparently capable of regenerating itself at minimal expense. From the perspective of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his White House cronies, this would not do. Since the US was accustomed to fighting other nation-states — geopolitical entities containing such

such identifiable targets as capital cities, airports, military bases, and munitions plants — we would have to find a nation-state to fight, or as Rumsfeld put it, a "target-rich environment". Iraq, pumped up by alleged stockpiles of "weapons of mass destruction" became the designated surrogate for an

ve military has become a constant source of frustration to civilian leaders. Irritated by the Pentagon's hesitation to put "boots on the ground" in Bosnia, then- Secretary of State Madeline Albright famously demanded of Secretary of Defense Colin Powell, "What good is this marvellous military force if

g infantries and saturation bombing, and apparently capable of regenerating itself at minimal expense. From the perspective of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his White House cronies, this would not do. Since the US was accustomed to fighting other nation-states — geopolitical entities containing such

such identifiable targets as capital cities, airports, military bases, and munitions plants — we would have to find a nation-state to fight, or as Rumsfeld put it, a "target-rich environment". Iraq, pumped up by alleged stockpiles of "weapons of mass destruction" became the designated surrogate for an

eda partners as bin Laden’s organization grew and expanded its global terrorist and military operations to regions as diverse *30 as the Philippines, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kosovo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kashmir, Somalia, Palestine, Pakistan, Yemen, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Indonesia, and Malaysia.! Plaintiffs’ plea

n.b.2, and the United States invaded Afghanistan because the Taliban regime had supported al-Qaeda prior to the September 11th Attacks. See Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 567-68 (2006) (discussing Authorization for Use of Military Force, 115 Stat. 224 (2001)). *135 For these reasons, there is a customary