Rumsfeld, MBAs and Tribalism
I wake up each morning genuinely astonished that Donald Rumsfeld still has a job to go to every day, let alone that his job continues to be Secretary of Defense of the United States of America.
After all, this is the man who is responsible for the planning, strategy and ongoing operation of the Iraq war, which even hardened conservatives like William F. Buckley and William Kristol now admit is an utter failure. It should also be noted that both Buckley and Kristol have severely criticized Rumsfeld directly: Buckley has called him a "failed executor" and Kristol called for Rumsfeld's resignation over one year ago. If that's not enough, how about the fact that it was Rumsfeld who authorized the interrogation techniques that led to the shameful and illegal acts that took place at Abu Ghraib prison. As Seymour Hersch reported in the New Yorker in May 2004:
The roots of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal lie not in the criminal inclinations of a few Army reservists but in a decision, approved last year by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to expand a highly secret operation, which had been focussed on the hunt for Al Qaeda, to the interrogation of prisoners in Iraq.
With a record like that you'd think that Rumsfeld would be sweating out his annual performance reviews. Not a chance. To the contrary, his boss still goes on about what a "great job" Rummy is doing running the Iraq war. I know I've extolled the benefits of "time-in" management before, but for f*ck's sake if anyone is deserving of a five year "time out", it's Donald Rumsfeld.
But, alas, no. The fact of the matter is that if you happen to be one of Bush's "chosen ones" (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove and even Card) the only thing that could get you fired from your job is if CNN catches you live on tape snorting cocaine with Marion Barry while performing a sex act on a farm animal that you lovingly refer to on camera as "sweet little Laura". And frankly, I'm not even sure that that would be enough to get you fired.
The irony of all this is that Bush and his cronies have often trumpeted the fact that Bush is the first President to hold an MBA (they don't like to highlight the C+ graduating average) and that his management style and philosophy is akin to that of a corporate CEO.
Well, the reality is that no corporate CEO would continue to support a senior executive with Rumsfeld's record of unequivocal failure and his direct contribution to massive shareholder losses. The right decision is to fire this executive and begin the process of rebuilding the management team. But this is exactly where Bush's management style fails him and his country. His penchant for loyalty, political victory and ideology consistently gets in the way of sound management decision-making.
As Ross Baker, a political scientist from Rutgers recently told U.S. News, "Personal loyalty plays an enormous role in this administration. One of the things a CEO has to do is make tough personnel decisions. He hasn't made any of them." Baker goes on to say that Bush, more than most presidents, is "dependent on personal friends and confidants... It's almost tribal."
And, so there it is. As a member of the Bush tribe, Rumsfeld is afforded almost unlimited immunity and impunity. I dare say, though, that the tribal culture within the Bush White House -- which, characteristic of most tribes, does not tolerate minority rights and dissident views -- poses as much a threat to democracy and world freedom as the extreme sectarian and religious tribalism that the White House is trying to quash in Iraq and large parts of the Middle East.
After all, this is the man who is responsible for the planning, strategy and ongoing operation of the Iraq war, which even hardened conservatives like William F. Buckley and William Kristol now admit is an utter failure. It should also be noted that both Buckley and Kristol have severely criticized Rumsfeld directly: Buckley has called him a "failed executor" and Kristol called for Rumsfeld's resignation over one year ago. If that's not enough, how about the fact that it was Rumsfeld who authorized the interrogation techniques that led to the shameful and illegal acts that took place at Abu Ghraib prison. As Seymour Hersch reported in the New Yorker in May 2004:
The roots of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal lie not in the criminal inclinations of a few Army reservists but in a decision, approved last year by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to expand a highly secret operation, which had been focussed on the hunt for Al Qaeda, to the interrogation of prisoners in Iraq.
With a record like that you'd think that Rumsfeld would be sweating out his annual performance reviews. Not a chance. To the contrary, his boss still goes on about what a "great job" Rummy is doing running the Iraq war. I know I've extolled the benefits of "time-in" management before, but for f*ck's sake if anyone is deserving of a five year "time out", it's Donald Rumsfeld.
But, alas, no. The fact of the matter is that if you happen to be one of Bush's "chosen ones" (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove and even Card) the only thing that could get you fired from your job is if CNN catches you live on tape snorting cocaine with Marion Barry while performing a sex act on a farm animal that you lovingly refer to on camera as "sweet little Laura". And frankly, I'm not even sure that that would be enough to get you fired.
The irony of all this is that Bush and his cronies have often trumpeted the fact that Bush is the first President to hold an MBA (they don't like to highlight the C+ graduating average) and that his management style and philosophy is akin to that of a corporate CEO.
Well, the reality is that no corporate CEO would continue to support a senior executive with Rumsfeld's record of unequivocal failure and his direct contribution to massive shareholder losses. The right decision is to fire this executive and begin the process of rebuilding the management team. But this is exactly where Bush's management style fails him and his country. His penchant for loyalty, political victory and ideology consistently gets in the way of sound management decision-making.
As Ross Baker, a political scientist from Rutgers recently told U.S. News, "Personal loyalty plays an enormous role in this administration. One of the things a CEO has to do is make tough personnel decisions. He hasn't made any of them." Baker goes on to say that Bush, more than most presidents, is "dependent on personal friends and confidants... It's almost tribal."
And, so there it is. As a member of the Bush tribe, Rumsfeld is afforded almost unlimited immunity and impunity. I dare say, though, that the tribal culture within the Bush White House -- which, characteristic of most tribes, does not tolerate minority rights and dissident views -- poses as much a threat to democracy and world freedom as the extreme sectarian and religious tribalism that the White House is trying to quash in Iraq and large parts of the Middle East.
posted by Z-Axis at 9:11 PM
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