Peter Rodman, RIP
The folks at National Review Online remember.
John O'Sullivan:
When Peter was speaking or writing, anyone listening or reading understood foreign policy too. Much as Peter's friends at NR admired the strategist and writer, however, we loved the man more. He was the most good-natured of colleagues. Also one of the most versatile, analysing Iranian policy and the comedian Benny Hill with equal fluency. His sly deadpan wit had listeners suddenly bursting out laughing halfway through their next argument. And we knew our friend was a truly good man. In private life Peter was a strong family man, rightly proud of his daughter Theodora and his son Nicholas, and devoted to his effervescent wife, Veronique. Like Ramesh I hate to think of the grief they must now be suffering. But they have at least the consolation of knowing how widely their father was loved and admired.Michael Ledeen:
Peter Rodman was one of the most significant members of his Washington generation, and long after those whose names routinely appear on today's front pages have gone, his name will be remembered and his influence will endure. He was at Henry Kissinger's side from Harvard through the White House and State, he was indispensable in the crafting of K's unforgettable memoirs. He then held a series of important jobs in government, culminating in a nearly eight-year stint as assistant secretary of defense, which he only left a few months ago. He was universally respected, a rare fine gentleman in a town that clones boors, and a first-class mind with the rhetorical skills to express his thoughts. Peter was one of the very first people I met in Washington in 1977, and for a couple of years we probably had lunch three times a week. He had a fantastic appetite, a wonderful sense of humor (even though clouded by his incomprehensible love of the Red Sox), and an exemplary attention to accuracy and detail. To say, as we almost always do, that he will be missed is a grave understatement. He was a real rarity, a unique talent, a gentle soul inside a tough fighter's skin, a dear friend with a lot left to give us that we will now have to sort out for ourselves. Unfair that he was taken from us so young.When you lie down, you need not be afraid, when you rest, your sleep will be sweet. -- Proverbs 3:24 UPDATE: Roundup of remembrances here.