Trust, but Verify

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 14 SEPTEMBER 22-28, 1999

www.smmirror.com

Trust, but Verify
Maureen Dowd

N.Y. Times News Service

After W. dropped his handkerchief in June, he sat on the porch by the ocean in Kennebunkport, Maine. I asked him if it was scary to run for president, when he knew so little about foreign affairs.
“There will be moments when situations, incidents will flare up,'' he replied. “It's important for the president to think globally.'' He said the crucial thing was how a chief executive dealt with Russia and China, and whether he knew which foreign-policy advisers to trust and which to “kiss off,'' as he put it.
-snip-

“In my life,'' W. told me dryly that day in Maine, “I never tried to rush the natural progression of growing up.''
And that is the issue that gnaws. Has he grown up? Can we trust him? He wants us to believe that his gut instincts and moral framework can carry him over the lacunae in his knowledge of geopolitics. He wants us to believe that his transformation from rowdy late bloomer to mature statesman is complete and non-reversible.

-a little more-


Note the date of the column.

I was thinking of posting a rant after the term "trust, but verify" came into my head while thinking about the unprecedented secrecy of this admin. I should have know Dowd was thinking about it long ago.

Some things do change. This is from a Reagan speech:

"In negotiating treaties, he advised, "Trust but verify. It means keeping our military strong. It means remembering no treaty is better than a bad treaty. It means remembering the accords of Moscow and Washington summits followed many years of standing firm on our principles and our interests and those of our allies."

Reagan criticized congressional attempts to control foreign policy development. "We see it in the attempt to manage complex issues of foreign policy by the blunt instrument of legislation - such as unduly restrictive intelligence oversight, limits on arms transfers, and earmarking of 95 percent of our foreign assistance - denying a president the ability to respond flexibly to rapidly changing conditions."
-more- http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0180_Reagans_Speech_Forei.html

Congress doesn't even have to declare war for 100's of thousands of American troops to invade other countries.

These days, the mantra should be "Don't Trust, and Verify Everything"