Officials will not come up with new ideas if they fear that they will be censured for their views. Better plans result from open debate, in and out of the administration.
Citizens have a right to ask the government to justify why it chooses one policy over another. The government should be able to account for its actions. Why couldn't it, unless it thinks that the electorate would not be satisfied with its explanation?
For example, the administration could resolve the Kloske case by defending its policy on weapons sales to Iraq before August 1990. Explain to the public that it was in the country's interest to sell military technology to Iraq to help Saddam wreak havoc on Iran during their eight-year war. Remind citizens about the U.S. hostages and our opposition to the Khomeini-led regime.
Does the administration fear that the electorate won't accept its argument? If so, then it should have pursued a different policy, one in line with what Americans wanted. Then it could come clean with the public.
The Schwarzkopf and Kloske incidents could have been opportunities for the president to justify his decisions and rally Americans around them. Instead, the administration swept the problems under the rug.
MAX WEBER warned of robotic bureaucrats who do nothing more than administer the law without feeling, perpetuating their positions without effecting change.
The Kloske and Schwarzkopf cases indicate that Americans need not fear bureaucracy as much as Weber did. Disagreements between officials indicate that they do care about the correctness of the regulations they administer. Public debate shows that bureaucracy is a living organism rather than a monolithic, thoughtless machine.
The administration should not fear dissent, but welcome it. It can claim that it solicits a wide-range of views; dissent shows that to be the case. The administration can look at past debates and learn from them.
Both government and the republic will benefit. That's in everyone's interest.
George Bush should not stifle internal dissent. He should encourage it.