My email to Richard Perle

Richard Perle, one of the intellectual fathers of the Iraq war, was interviewed this morning on NPR. It was a revealing interview. It showed that nothing has changed.

So, I tracked down Perle's email address (rperle@aei.org) and sent him an email. 

Richie,

It's good to see that there is constancy in this world. You are still the evasive, arrogant person you were when you flogged the war in Iraq. Your interview on NPR this morning restored my faith in the belief that you can't expect an old dog to learn anything, not to mention be manly enough to admit mistakes of a fundamental nature. You and your buddies cooked the books and misled the country, all in order to, what, get back at Saddam for humiliating the Bush I White House back in 1991? for trying to take out Bush 1? Of course, if I dug deep enough, I'd probably find evidence that you were supportive of Donnie when he was kissing Saddam's butt during the mid-1980s. 

The fact that you and your buddies never even took account of the fact that Saddam was most afraid of the far more powerful country of Shia to the east is sickening. The fact that you and your buddies had no plans for the day after the tanks reached Baghdad is revolting. The fact that you still insouciantly mislead is delightful, because it indicates that if you have a conscience, you are having trouble sleeping at night when you think of the trillions of dollars spent on this folly and the thousands of American children who never knew their fathers, not to mention the bombs ripping human flesh today in the made-up country called "Iraq." 

The story that you told today -- that you were searching for a country that could pose a threat to the U.S. after 9/11-- is the biggest whopper yet. Are you kidding?

It reminds me of McNamara's book on Vietnam, where the word "Buddhist" never appears. So, here's some advice: if you are ever in a position of power again, heaven forfend, and you decide to invade another country, this time try to understand the nature of the country's populace and heritage. It might save you some sleepness nights later on when your war proves unwinnable. 

I am awaiting a reply.