The important thing about his book -- and, for the moment high profile media appearances -- are the accusations, essentially, of incompetence, ineptitude and inattention (the old CCP might have referred to these as the 'three ins').
Adminstration partisans amongst elite circles and the general populace will mostly be unmoved -- the administration is a sort of religion for them and almost no one wants to admit their god has failed so belief will persist.
For the remaining millions and, more crucially, skeptical quarters of elite opinion this will be yet another hammer strike against acceptance of the Bush group as acceptable managers.
Imperialists can excuse the murder of innocents in the Stalin-esque service of some greater cause -- history, they're sure, will absolve them once neo-liberalism (or whatever narrow vision enjoys popularity) rules the globe and smooths away all contradictions.
But incompetence and a failure to practice 'due dilligence' in the cause of empire (which surely includes effectively suppressing so-called asymmetrical combatants such as al Qaeda) is completely unforgivable.
This is the true audience for Clarke's book -- 'decision-makers' who must evaluate the Bush admin's usefulness as the carrot and stick bearers of a steady global order, managed for the benefit of American elites.
What advantage have elites, defined broadly, derived from the invasion of Iraq? Haliburton, Bechtel and similar firms appear to be doing well enough but what about the ruling class as a whole? Iraq may be a net loss, creating 'opportunities' for a small group of war and energy related firms but shutting out other major players.
This is surely not going undiscussed.
What about Afghanistan, or the entire 'war on terror' project which seems chaotic and counter-productive? What benefit are elites gaining from the growth of the maximum security state? The relative openness of the US, suppression of true political independence in much of the 'developing world' and penetration of the former imperialist powerhouses of Europe is the environment in which the present order grew. This is being damaged (to what extent is a good question) by the unbridled militarism of the Bush admin.
Clarke provides non-Bushite elites and their camp followers with a powerful rhetorical weapon -- these people (the Bushies) are clumsy; they cannot be trusted with the job of maintaining the structure we depend upon.
If I'm right, we can expect a nasty turn in media circles against Bush in the coming months.
DRM