Just finished George Kennan: An American Life. I agree with the spirit of what you've written, but you left an important part of the story out. Kennan spent his entire career writing lengthy jeremiads of one kind or another. What made the Long Telegraph different is that it was timely, it was read by the right people at the right time, and it was a useful tool for people duking out a policy battle back in DC.

Nothing is more boring than a "Field Trip to the South" cable that lacks a more fundamental and utilitarian goal- we should be writing with a purpose, to inform policy development back home. That, of course, requires a reading appetite among DC consumers longer than a three bullet 'key points'- alas.

Reply