Tim Blair

DOESN'T KNOW WHETHER HE'S ARTHUR OR ADAMS

Professor Bunyip has caught Phillip Adams rewriting a piece from the New York Review of Books -- for the third time.

The source on this occasion is Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. As the Bunyip writes: "To be fair, while Adams neglects to mention the NYRoB article, he does give Schlesinger a couple of passing nods. But to be really fair, he would also need to give Schlesinger the cheque he will be receiving for his column."

Indeedy. So let’s play another round of What Did Phillip Write, and What Appeared A Month Or So Ago In The NYRoB? Before you hit those links, select A or B from each of the following pairs of extracts:

1. A: The combination of containment and deterrence was initiated half a century ago by Harry S. Truman and confirmed as bi-partisan policy by Dwight Eisenhower. Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush Snr and Clinton pursued it.

B: The combination of containment and deterrence was initiated over half a century ago by President Truman. It was confirmed as a bipartisan policy by President Eisenhower and thereafter sustained by Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon (with modifications), Carter, Reagan (with deviations), George H.W. Bush, and Clinton.

2. A: In his West Point speech of June 1, 2002, Mr. Bush explicitly rejected containment and deterrence as sufficient weapons for the war against terrorism. "We must," he said, "take the battle to the enemy...and confront the worst threats before they emerge. In the world we have entered, the only path to safety is the path of action. And this nation will act."

B: In June 2002, Bush rejected containment and deterrence. "We must take the battle to the enemy ... the only path to safety is the path of action. And this nation will act."

3. A: This column has previously discussed the National Security Strategy of the United States of America, issued by the White House in September 2002. Here is its essence: "Given the goals of rogue states and terrorists, the US can no longer solely rely on a reactive posture as we have in the past. The inability to deter a potential attacker, the immediacy of today’s threats, and the magnitude of potential harm that could be caused by our adversary’s choice of weapons, do not permit that option. We cannot let our enemies strike first."

B: Such speeches prepared the way for a formal statement, The National Security Strategy of the United States of America, issued by the White House in September 2002. "Given the goals of rogue states and terrorists," this document says, the United States can no longer solely rely on a reactive posture as we have in the past. The inability to deter a potential attacker, the immediacy of today's threats, and the magnitude of potential harm that could be caused by our adversaries' choice of weapons, do not permit that option. We cannot let our enemies strike first."

4. A: On February 15, 1848, during the war with Mexico, a young Illinois congressman sent a letter to his law partner pointing out the constitutional and practical flaws in what we now call the Bush Doctrine.

B: As early as the war with Mexico in 1846-48, Abraham Lincoln expressed disapproval of preventative war.

5. A: "Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion," Abraham Lincoln wrote William H. Herndon, "and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose, and you allow him to make war at pleasure ... If today he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, 'I see no probability of the British invading us'; but he will say to you, 'Be silent: I see it, if you don't.'"

B: "Allow the President to invade a neighbouring nation wherever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose … If today he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, 'I see no probability of the British invading us,' but he will say to you, 'Be silent. I see it, if you don't.'"

6. A: "We must face the fact," President John F. Kennedy said, "that the United States is neither omnipotent or omniscient—that we are only 6 percent of the world's population—that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind ..."

B: Kennedy would deplore the Bush doctrine. "We must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent nor omniscient," he wrote. "We are only 6 per cent of the world’s population – we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 per cent of mankind."

So, how’d you do? Send your answers here. You might win a prize.

Posted by Tim Blair at December 14, 2003 01:05 AM