Late last summer, George Bush made sure he got a copy of Clancy's newest novel, Clear and Present Danger, within hours of its publication, and he recently said that Clancy has made "a marvelous contribution... to our literary world and, I also would like to think, to the national security interests of the United States." It's more than a little eerie that just a few weeks after reading Clancy's latest effort, in which the U.S. government turns away from confronting the Evil Empire in order to tackle Colombian narcoterrorism, Bush decided to do the same thing. Have we finally arrived at a new form of polity? Government by Bestseller.
With all this official acceptance, it's hard to remember that Clancy writes fiction. Now admittedly, fiction can point to real truths--just think of Oliver Twist and The Grapes of Wrath--that government and society should take account of. But has Tom Clancy done anything like that? Does he know what he's talking about? He certainly seems to know a lot about how planes, subs, and missiles are supposed to work, and how we and the Soviets intend to use them. And this makes his books that much more seductive. But is there any reason to think that he knows what will happen when those weapons and those intentions are put into the pressure-cooker of combat? The more complex war has become, the more ways there are for missions to go bad, and the graver the consequences. The history of modern warfare is replete with counterexamples to Tom Clancy's vision. The problem is that history hasn't sold 20 million copies.
The overwhelming majority of Clancy's readers are life-long civilians who have no direct military experience to help them challenge him. So when they read page piled on page of the marvels wrought by Jack Ryan and his fellow military magicians, readers are more or less defenseless against Clancy's subliminal bombardment of them with the Ollie North fantasy: We've got everything under control. We've got everything under control. Don't worry. Don't worry
Of course, the scariest part is that so many of our military men and political leaders unflinchingly accept the message too, even though it makes about as much sense for the Pentagon to consult Tom Clancy as it does for the Supreme Court to consult the producer of "L.A. Law." And how could Ronald Reagan's Army experience making propaganda films position him to disagree with Clancy? Or Dan Quayle's National Guard experience? So powerful is the fantasy that even comabt veteral George Bush has obviously succumbed if he thinks Clancy has made "a marvelous contribution to...the national security interests of the United States." On the contraty! DON'T WORRY is warfare's most dangerous phrase. It's the credo for almost all military disasters. No, Clancy's message is a threat to national security. American, stop buying it.
posted on June 21, 2002 04:21:05 PM new
Like I mentioned a short while back, go see the new Tom Clancy movie that just came out with Ben Aflack and Morgan Freeman called "The Sum of All Fears". I won't say more about it, but if you go see it, you'll understnad why I referred you to it.
posted on June 21, 2002 05:08:09 PM new
Yes Deuce. That clarification wasn't necessary for the reason antiquary gave and because the text contains the phrase "that even comabt veteral George Bush". Even though there are deep questions about poppa's combat experience because he, like some other pilots were found to do, ditched for claimed mechanical reasons before arriving at the scene of any combat, everyone knows that dumbya spent most of his time in service either drunk or AWOL.
On one of those TV news shows they did a 'day in the life of Dubya' at his ranch in Crawford, and he specifically said he was almost through with the book John Adams
Borillar, to be PC, they changed the movie to neo nazi terrorists, from the books original Islamic terrorists
If Bush reads beyond the chapters dealing with Adams’ youth, however, he will encounter what for him will surely be a sobering tale. Adams, the sixth president, was -- like Bush -- the son of a president. Like Bush, he was elected without a majority of the popular vote in a bitterly contested election that featured charges of fraud and disenfranchisement. Like Bush, his presidency was shrouded in controversy and scandal even before it began.
The story of Bush’s presidency has yet to be written. But if it continues to parallel that of Adams, it will end in tears. Unable to establish political legitimacy in the aftermath of his disputed election, Adams was swept from office after an uninspired four years and quickly consigned to the dustbin of history. The twist with Adams, however, is that he did not disappear. The only former president to be elected to the House of Representatives, he returned to Washington two years after losing the presidency and began a second career as the conscience of a nation that badly needed moral guidance.
posted on June 21, 2002 09:02:02 PM new
Hey! Maybe Laura read it to George! Remember how Nancy had to keep Reagan in line? Women are just superior. HaHaHa!!!
posted on June 21, 2002 09:19:48 PM new
I wish some forward looking author would do a story with Chinese villains. They are the only obvious alien mindset with Power on the planet.
posted on June 21, 2002 09:20:51 PM new
Borillar, I meant PC in the context of, the movie came out after 9-11, and to be politically correct, the studios changed the terrorists from Islamic to Neo Nazis
posted on June 21, 2002 11:44:55 PM new
Lets Be fair...
All you Demicrats come in here saying that Bush is reading books or He might even write a book.
Now you guys know that this is not true.
The fact is that his daddy was there when this plane came to close and spent hours looking for the guy cause the service could not find him.
He was in the closet. it was there that he met for the first time several of his closest advisors, some of whom still have not come out of the closet.
His dad feeling sorry for the little guy sat him on his lap and spent all night reading tom clancy to him to get the kid back on track.
And here you guys would come and try and wreck a monu mental family experience like this ?
posted on June 22, 2002 11:30:08 AM new
We are not Demicrats, Demigods maybe. Also, Democrats in our free time, not DemoGods....
There are only 10 types of people in the world
Those who understand binary and those who don't
posted on June 22, 2002 04:07:32 PM new
Well I for one think that this has had some positive implications, maybe Now when he will meet the Head of a foreign nation instead of saying ''got any black people ? (sort of like got milk?) now he will say Hey wanna beer ?
posted on June 23, 2002 07:25:06 AM new
I'm only about a third of the way through Clancy's 900+ pages in The Sum of All Fears. So far it's only marginally interesting. Clancy is good with plot but weak on description and narration. The film is probably better.
Clancy's NetForce, which I read a few months ago, is better written and maybe more prescient. The Carlyle Group could well be the prototype for his Cybernation.
posted on June 23, 2002 08:24:40 AM new
I had to search several local bookstores for Clancy's book, The Sum of All Fears. After reading four pages, I lost it.
posted on June 23, 2002 11:18:38 AM new
Go see the movie instead. Forget the book -- it's not relevant. The movie is based upon another, different, very plausable idea.
posted on June 24, 2002 02:21:49 PM new
Bush decides to dump Cheny and Hire Arnold Schwarzenegger and the most powerful reprublican in the world, Bush said i'll be back...
