SF Writer Bruce Sterling - There's Something About Rummy

"Know your customers!" World-class futurists with executive skills are rare. Rumsfeld is the best and most able functionary the administration has. But the man is 70 years old. This is just not his century.

During his 40 years in business and government, Rumsfeld assembled a folksy collection of principles for running a military-industrial complex. Called Rumsfeld's Rules, the document warmed the hearts of upper-level managers when it appeared in The Wall Street Journal just after its author took office. Some of the rules are his own, but many are respectfully quoted from sources he admires, including Winston Churchill, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and, endearingly, his children.

Rumsfeld's maxims offer deep insight into why the American republic has survived and thrived. They also explain why this presidency is scaring the world into a tizzy. The administration has Rumsfeld on board, and yet observe how it's trampling his rules.

"Visit with your predecessors from previous administrations. Try to make original mistakes, rather than needlessly repeating theirs." What year is this, exactly? 1914? 1929? 1964, year of the Tonkin Gulf resolution? The energy crisis of the 1970s? Let's hope it's not 1989, with the US playing the Soviet Union.

"From where you sit, the White House may look as untidy as the inside of a stomach. Don't let that panic you. Things may be going better than they look from the inside." It was Rumsfeld's great insight that September 11 was the harbinger of a new kind of war that could destroy America: nuclear guerrilla war. Faced with potential annihilation, the administration panicked. That's why it's violating Rumsfeld's rules.