Normally, you would think not much, beyond the fact that a lot of people in this government are Straussians. They include Abram Shulsky and some of the men with whom he works, like Wolfowitz and Stephen Cambone, who is the Under-Secretary of Intelligence. But Shulsky actually co-wrote an article about Strauss and intelligence that did make the connection. Shulsky's article involves Strauss's theory of esoteric writing, in which he notes that great philosophers, hesitant to tell the whole story of what they believed, used concealed messages in their writing. Only the very wise could understand the real truth. This also brings in Plato's concept of the noble lie. This is, of course, a great simplification. But what's interesting in terms of Iraq is Strauss's complaint that, as Shulsky writes, nobody quite understood the extent of deception that exists in the world, or its role in politics. This includes deception by Saddam Hussein, who deceived us about what his real intentions and goals were. But you can also extrapolate from that. This idea may help to explain how the people in Special Plans rationalized whatever concerns they had about the quality of the day-to-day intelligence about Saddam and weapons of mass destruction. -- Michael Pugliese
"Without knowing that we knew nothing, we went on talking without listening to each other. Sometimes we flattered and praised each other, understanding that we would be flattered and praised in return. Other times we abused and shouted at each other, as if we were in a madhouse." -Tolstoy