Kuklick: Intellectuals and War Bruce Kuklick: Blind Oracles - Intellectuals and War from Kennan to Kissinger

Hardcover: 241 pages
Publisher: Princeton University Press 2006
ISBN: 0-691-12349-7

Bruce Kuklick has written a captivating book about the role of intellectuals in the art of war.

"The evidence requires that we be skeptical about the knowledge that all these men declared to have. While they professed deep understanding, they actually groped in the dark. Much of the time fashion was more important than validity. At the same time, irrespective of the quality of their knowledge, in the usual case the ideas of the celebral strategists had little causal impact. They served to legitimate but not to energize policies. Intellectuals were most effective when they showed, after the fact, that some endeavors had been desirable. Or they articulated schema aht exculpated policymakers - or themselves - from responsibility for action later identified as bad. The basic though not the only function of strategic ideas was to provide politicians with the fictions used to give meaning to policies for the public." 15

As the title of the book Blind Oracles might hint, Kuklick has a fairly negative image about the wisdom of these men. The military-industrial complex and scientific-technological elite have on one hand professionalized and rationalized the passionate subject of force in international life but on the other hand has distanced the discussion away from the human dimensions of world politics. This was especially true, in my opinion, with the decision to invade Iraq.

Rationalism and logical processing of data into a science might be the only way we got to think about prudent policies. There is obviously the danger that it might create too simple or simply flawed results from the complex spheres of human interaction. Then there is the problem with flawed intelligence that lead to flawed policies that restrict future policy options.

Final verdict: All-in all, a brilliant book, specially the chapters on Kissinger - highly recommended.
Second Opinion: Gregory Kupsky / The Ohio State University  ¶ 7/20/2007 10:55:00 ap.