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Why Leaders Lie - Mearsheimer, John J_ [64]

By Root 3200 0
68

strategic deception campaigns about, 40

during treaties and formal agreements negotiation, 40–42

trust and verification, 28–29

Iran-Contra scandal, 108n2

Iraq, ongoing wars in, 102

Iraq War

and Bush administration, 5, 17–18, 49–55

weapon of mass destruction as a reason for, 3

Israel

and American Jewish community, nationalist myths, 73–74

Lavon affair, 39

lie about nascent nuclear weapons program, 32–33

and Palestinian conflict, 74–75

post–Qibya massacre behavior, 65


Japan

secret agreement with United States during Cold War, 67–68

Joffre, Marshal Joseph, 64–65

Johnson, Lyndon B., 7

Gulf of Tonkin, 47–49, 117n18

Jupiter missiles, falsehood on, 99–100


Kant, Immanuel, perspective on lying, 10

Katyn Forest incident, 79

Kennedy, John F., 35, 58–59, 66

Kenyan gulag for Mau Mau, British’s lie about, 67

Kershaw, Ian, 60

Khrushchev, Nikita, lie about ICBM capability, 31–32

Kissinger, Henry, 33, 37

about strategic nuclear parity, 112n24

Kristol, Irving, 60


Lavon–Israel affair, 39

lawyers, 17

LeMay, General Curtis, 77

Leviathan (Hobbes), 9

liberal lies, 22–23, 77–82

circumstances for, 81–82

to cover up their country’s ruthless behavior, 80–81

democracies vs non-democracies, 77, 78

to gain international legitimacy, 81

international politics, 80

potential cost of, 97

Lippmann, Walter, 60

Logevall, Fredrik, 48

Lone Star National Security Forum, x

lying/lies (see also specific lying/lies)

acceptable situations in daily lives, 19, 87

absolutist perspective, 10, 11

analysis of, 11–12

broad definition, 26

Bush’s claim, 120–21n40

characteristics, 18

and concealment, moral philosophers view on, 105n6

conclusions about, 99–102

and deception, 9

definition of, 16

effective, 30

facts falsification, 16, 18

by government officials, downside of, 85

by leaders, Powell’s view on, 109n7

narrower definition, 27

necessary, for international politics, 6

normal life, reprehensible behavior, 6

to public, 57–58, 101

reasons for, 11, 30–42

revelation of, 41

as shameful act, 19, 99

between States (see inter-state lying/lies)

strategic benefits of, 99–100

utilitarian perspective, 10, 11

“Lying Baptists,” 104n5


Madoff, Bernie, 84

Mau Mau independence fighters, 67

McNamara, Robert, 37, 49, 58

memories, 15

misconceived lie, 90

missile gap, 32

MIT Political Science Department, x

Moroccan Crisis, Germany’s behavior during, 36

Morris, Benny, 66

Moscow, lie on biological weapons handling, 33–34

motivation, through lying, 22


national interest, 77

nationalist myths, 21, 22, 71–76, 126n5

aggressive behavior, 95–96

circumstances for, 74–76

controversial events, 76

country’s founding, disputes about, 75

by elites, reasons for, 72–74

to gain international legitimacy, 72

for group solidarity, 72

public’s expectation, 72

risks of, 95–97

state-building process, nationalist myths during, 75–76

wartime, 75, 96–97

nation-state creation, 71, 75, 76

NATO, nuclear policy during Cold War, 36–37

Nazi Germany (see also Germany; Adlof Hitler)

efforts to blame Poland for starting World War II, 79–80

liberal lies by, 79–80

nationalist myths, 73

negative aspects, international lying (see specific lying/lies)

Nixon, Richard, lying to deceive Castro, 35

noble lie, 12

nondemocracies, 60, 77

fearmongering and, 59–60

liberal lies and, 77

masking controversial policies and, 69–70


Ousby, Ian, 65

overcoming biases, 15


Palestine

and Israel conflict, 74–75

and Zionism, nationalist myths, 73–74

Pentagon

Bush briefing on, 119–20n35

pervasive lying, downsides of, 83–84

Poland, liberal lies on, 79–80

policymaking

fearmongering and, 57–58

Iraq war, British policymakers, 54–55

lying and, 21–21

lying, impact of, 85

Ponsonby, Arthur, 43

Powell, Jody, 31

lie about military operation to free American hostages, 35

Powell, Colin, 50, 55

preventive wars, prohibition of, 61–62

promiscuous lying, 85

psychological scare campaign, 56

public support, through lying, 21, 55–59, 61–62


Qibya massacre, Israel’s strategic cover-ups, 65–66


Reagan, Ronald, 28, 108n2

Renan, Ernest, 71

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