RISE OF THE VULCANS
The History of Bush's War Cabinet
By James Mann
Reviewed by MICHIKO KAKUTANI:
The Vulcans in James Mann's compelling new book are not the ultra-logical pointy-eared beings from "Star Trek," but the Pentagon-trained pro-military foreign policy advisers who surround President Bush. Their nickname, which they coined during the 2000 campaign, came from the Roman god of fire and the forge, and was meant, Mr. Mann says, to convey a sense of "power, toughness, resilience and durability."
Mr. Mann's real subject in this book is the United States' evolving relationship with the world over the past three decades, as American power rose from a nadir at the end of the Vietnam War to a position of military supremacy. The prism he uses to examine this subject consists of the beliefs and experiences of six leading Vulcans: Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice.
The resulting book is lucid, shrewd and, after so many high-decibel screeds from both the right and left, blessedly level-headed. It is necessary reading for anyone interested in understanding the back story of how and why America came to deal with the rest of the world the way it is doing under the Bush administration.
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