All bureaucrats tell the boss what he wants to hear . . .

Submitted by Maureen (United States), Apr 25, 2006 at 15:03

Unfortunately, this "top-down, down-top" lying and self-delusion are characteristic of all bureaucracies -- as in Bush's and Rumsfeld's delusional: "the 'Iraqis' will greet us with open arms" -- fed to them by obedient (or clueless) intel, diplomatic and military analysts and political appointees who lined up to parrot the decades-old, Aramco, oil-based, lie that the Saudis, Jordanians, Pakistanis, etc., are the West's friends.

Nevertheless, lies and self-dellusion get really thick in a tribal area like Saddam's where there is only one Boss and one thuggish Bureaucracy -- where people die tortuous deaths (as opposed to not being promoted) when they oppose the boss.

Respect for truth-telling is based on one of the Judeo-Christian commandments that over the centuries has enabled Western countries to build "rule-of-law" societies. On the contrary, lying is admired in Muslim countries where the Ten Commandments are not taught as a foundational "Pillar" of morality -- where their "neighbor" is only their immediate family and tribe. Small wonder that they have trouble conceptualizing and building rule-of-law societies.

Maureen

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