PETER’S FORMER COLLEAGUES at National Review have done him justice with their tributes at NRO. John O’Sullivan in particular knew Peter well, and his is a lovely memoir.
So I’ll just add a word about this patriot and gentleman.
Peter spent about twenty years serving in difficult and sensitive positions in the White House, the State Department, and the Defense Department. Everyone who worked with him–and I did a little in the first Bush administration–knew that he was both remarkably able and genuinely public-spirited. He didn’t seek credit or look out for his own career prospects. He always put the country’s interests first, even at the expense of his own personal interests. In other words, he was a patriot.
He was also a remarkable analyst. His 1994 book, More Precious than Peace: The Cold War and the Struggle for the Third World, is a serious and penetrating study. Henry Kissinger’s extraordinary memoirs owe much–as Henry has always said–to Peter’s assistance. His many articles and editorials for National Review repay re-reading. And looking now at the two pieces he wrote for us a decade ago, they are compelling–featuring lapidary and lively prose, mature judgment, and sharp insight.
Particularly worth re-reading is Peter’s 1981 review in the American Spectator of William Shawcross’s book on the Nixon-Kissinger Cambodia policy. Peter’s critique is a masterpiece of its genre–and, with Shawcross’s reply and Peter’s further reply to Shawcross, the whole exchange is a model of engaged and serious high-level argumentation.
And then, a year ago, Shawcross and Rodman wrote an extraordinary and much-noticed joint op-ed on Iraq in the New York Times defending the effort to win in Iraq:
Finally, when he was stricken with leukemia, Peter had just about finished a book-length study of all the presidents under whom he had served–Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush I and Bush II–and what made them successful or not. This will be a worthwhile posthumous gift from Peter.
As for Peter Rodman the person: He was a gentleman–thoughtful, courteous, with a subtle wit that went hand in hand with genuine kindness. He was a loving and amused husband to his lively wife Veronique, and a proud father of his two children, Theodora and Nicholas.
I think the last time I saw Peter was when I ran into him a few months ago on the street in front of the AEI (and TWS) building. We chatted about two things: our kids, and Iraq. Peter was a deeply modest man–but he was proud of his children, and proud of his service to his country. He was looking forward to years of thinking and writing. It was not to be.
But in his 64 years, he lived a life worth living.
William Kristol is editor of THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
