"I think if I had to do it over again, I'd do it the same way. I would just put more resources into getting the public diplomacy part much stronger than we were able to"
About this Quote
A seasoned operator’s version of regret without repentance, Poindexter’s line treats history like a campaign that mostly worked but needed better messaging. “I’d do it the same way” is the tell: the moral or legal controversy isn’t being re-litigated, just the rollout. What changes isn’t the decision, but the optics - and that’s where the quote quietly redraws the boundary between accountability and communication.
Public diplomacy here isn’t a soft add-on; it’s a strategic instrument. In the wake of Iran-Contra, Poindexter became a symbol of a national security culture that prized action, secrecy, and executive latitude, then seemed surprised when the public reacted as if democratic consent mattered. So when he says “more resources,” he’s invoking an institutional reality: in Washington, credibility is budgeted, staffed, and planned. If you lose the narrative, you don’t just lose reputation - you lose room to maneuver.
The subtext is that the public was not owed a different policy, only a better explanation of the same one. That’s a revealing posture from a public servant: it frames citizens less as sovereigns and more as an audience to be managed. It also hints at a technocrat’s belief that public outrage is often a communications failure, not a substantive one. The rhetorical neatness of “the same way” paired with “much stronger” diplomacy is the whole trick: it acknowledges friction while insulating the core choice from scrutiny, turning a crisis of trust into a staffing problem.
Public diplomacy here isn’t a soft add-on; it’s a strategic instrument. In the wake of Iran-Contra, Poindexter became a symbol of a national security culture that prized action, secrecy, and executive latitude, then seemed surprised when the public reacted as if democratic consent mattered. So when he says “more resources,” he’s invoking an institutional reality: in Washington, credibility is budgeted, staffed, and planned. If you lose the narrative, you don’t just lose reputation - you lose room to maneuver.
The subtext is that the public was not owed a different policy, only a better explanation of the same one. That’s a revealing posture from a public servant: it frames citizens less as sovereigns and more as an audience to be managed. It also hints at a technocrat’s belief that public outrage is often a communications failure, not a substantive one. The rhetorical neatness of “the same way” paired with “much stronger” diplomacy is the whole trick: it acknowledges friction while insulating the core choice from scrutiny, turning a crisis of trust into a staffing problem.
Quote Details
| Topic | Learning from Mistakes |
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