Former Insider Lashes Out

"Asked what role Bush played with the 'cabal,' Wilkerson said the president 'was very integral to the process. When the president's [intervention] was needed the president's office was entered by one person and the president's consent was obtained,' Wilkerson said."

Dana Milbank writes in The Washington Post: "Wilkerson accused Bush of 'cowboyism' and said he had viewed Condoleezza Rice as 'extremely weak.' Of American diplomacy, he fretted, 'I'm not sure the State Department even exists anymore.'. . . .

"A 31-year military veteran and former director of the Marine Corps War College, he worked for Powell in the public and private sectors for much of the past 16 years, and he was often described by colleagues as the man who would say what Powell was thinking but was too discreet to say. . . .

"Wilkerson, part military man and part academic, said 'hell' a lot but also used words such as 'desultory' and 'titular.' Peering from large wire-rimmed glasses, armed with a flag lapel pin, he spoke with barely restrained anger. He had given critical quotes about the administration before, but yesterday's New America Foundation speech was his coming out as an administration critic."

Here's a partial transcript ; and the video of Wilkerson's talk. It takes him about 20 minutes to build up steam. Lunch host Steve Clemmons promises a full transcript on his Washington Note blog later today.

"When you cut the bureaucracy out of your decisions and then foist your decisions on us out of the blue on that bureaucracy, you can't expect that bureaucracy to carry your decision out very well and, furthermore, if you're not prepared to stop the feuding elements in that bureaucracy, as they carry out your decision, you're courting disaster," Wilkerson said.

"And I would say that we have courted disaster, in Iraq, in North Korea, in Iran, generally with regard to domestic crises like Katrina, Rita and I could go on back, we haven't done very well on anything like that in a long time. And if something comes along that is truly serious, truly serious, something like a nuclear weapon going off in a major American city, or something like a major pandemic, you are going to see the ineptitude of this government."

Newsweek's Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey write that Wilkerson's critique is "directly relevant" to special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald's investigation into whether White House officials intentionally leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame as part of a plot to discredit her husband, former ambassador turned administration critic Joseph C. Wilson IV.

"Wilkerson argues that the reason leaders need to be open and honest with their own bureaucracy is because in times of war you need all the help, advice and teamwork you can lay your hands on. Dissent should be welcomed because the dissenters then form part of your team. He also argues that the entire national-security process needs to be overhauled to stop the kind of secrecy and concentration of power that led to the decision to invade Iraq.

"Joe Wilson's mistake was that he crossed the so-called cabal by saying the administration knew there was nothing to the Niger story even before President George W. Bush cited it in his State of the Union Message in early 2003. Just like Powell's dissent in the run-up to war, the response inside the administration was personally critical and had a chilling effect on internal debate.

"Whether or not you agree with the war, and whether or not [special prosecutor Patrick J.] Fitzgerald indicts anyone, it's worth remembering why Joe Wilson was at all important to the White House and the vice president's office in particular. As the president said in his 2003 State of the Union address, 'Sending Americans into battle is the most profound decision a president can make.' The Plame game gets to the heart of how that decision was made--and whether anyone could offer an alternative view and survive with their reputation intact."

The Rove-Libby Conversation

Bush senior advisor Karl Rove and top Cheney aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby are widely considered possible targets of Fitzgerald's investigation.