Reply #7: I haven't read them yet either, but there is some truth in that...

[JHB]

...in that today's core neocons got their start as aides to the ultra-hawkish "Scoop" Jackson and his allies (Perle started this way, for one). These hawks argued that the CIA's analytical wing was full of "internationalists" and were generally underestimating Soviet abilities and intents. They prevailed upon then-CIA Directoe George H.W. Bush to set up a "Team B" exercise, pitting the Agency's analyests against "outside experts". On technical matters this was actually pretty useful, but in the strategic assessment "Team B" paited what became the Reaganite Vision of the Ruskies: they were larger, better equipped, and were bent on world domination through military force. Wolfowitz was on Team B.

These men have been hailed as some of our top thinkers on defense, but in truth they've spent their entire careers concocting hair'em-scare'em paranoia-feeding scenarios while distaining any facts in counterpoint so as to feed their vision of power: a powerful military that can be used at will and abject distain for diplomacy.

It's not so much that the Cold War and War on Terrorism were false as much as these men have the same bad MO for dealing with both.