Richard Perle Denounces Bush's Iraq War Incursion 
In today's Los Angeles Times staff writer Peter Spiegel has reported that none other than Richard Perle, Mr. Neoconservative along with Paul Wolfowitz, the super hawkish Cold Warrior called "The Prince of Darkness," has denounced Bush for invading Iraq. The article in which Perle makes his disclosure appears in January's Vanity Fair.
Perle sternly disclaims the idea that neocons were fundamental figures in the planning of the Iraq War. Others interviewed for the same article that also spoke critically about Bush's Iraq strategy are former Bush speechwriter David Frum and former Reagan Administration official Ken Adelman.
As Spiegel reveals, "Perle's prominent advocacy of invasion after the September 11 terrorist attacks - and his close relationship with the war's top architects, including Paul D. Wolfowitz, then the deputy Defense secretary, and Douglas J. Feith, the former Pentagan policy chief - makes his reversal particularly noteworthy."
The noted neoconservative stated further that "huge mistakes" had been made in the management of the war, and he blamed disloyalty among top Bush Administration officials for a failure to make needed policy corrections.
It was no surprise that Perle, a veteran power player on the Potomac scene, sought to provide himself with cover for the constantly unfolding cataclysm in Iraq:
"I'm getting damn tired of being described as an architect of the war. I was in favor of bringing down Saddam. Nobody said, `Go design the campaign to do that.' I had no responsibility for that."
The Perle criticisms convey bad news to the Cheney-Bush-Rove team for two reasons - not only can Democrats point to the leading neocon's denunciation in making the case that the Iraq War has been and continues to be a failure as they make their eleventh hour case to hold Republican candidates accountable for supporting those policies; there are broad political ramifications as well.
It is a noted Washington axiom that when a regime is sinking former allies begin scurrying away to prevent being engulfed in an ensuing tidal wave. Perle appears to be providing himself with cover by laying policy failures squarely in the lap of Bush.
On the McLaughlin Group last night Pat Buchanan, when asked to assess likely Republican damage in Tuesday's elections, used hurricane terminology in stating that the ultimate result would range between a Category 1 and Category 4.
With a major conservative Republican figure such as Richard Perle seeking cover while Bush continues shouting himself hoarse reciting the same old tired mantra of "cut and run" concerning Iraq and "tax and spend" pertaining to the domestic economy, the soundest bet under the Buchanan equation is to opt for a Category 4.
KEYWORDS: Richard Perle, George W. Bush, Iraq War, Neoconservatism, David Frum, Ken Adelman
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