War and Decision: A word from Douglas Feith

Douglas Feith served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from July 2001 until August 2005. His government service extends back to work at the NSC and the Pentagon during the Reagan administration. His work at the Pentagon during the Reagan administration earned him the Defense Department's Distinguished Public Service medal, the department's highest civilian award.

Mr. Feith has now written War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism. This memoir is an important book, providing the first account of decision making from inside the Pentagon during the war and countering many of the myths promulgated about the events covered.

The Washington Post has run two hatchet jobs on the book. Thomas Ricks and Karen DeYoung looked through the book for newsworthy items they were able to find in the few hours they had to glance through a leaked copy of the not-fully-edited typescript and interview Feith and Paul Bremer. A cynic might accuse them of "cherry-picking" the book to suit an agenda. The Ricks/DeYoung article elicited a brief response from the book's publisher.