The McGeorge Affair

Jesse Walker | December 4, 2002

For a more complete survey of the weapons-inspector/S&M brouhaha than I would have thought possible, read Alexander Cockburn's most recent column in the New York Press. If you share my immature sense of humor, you'll especially like the line about "Saddam's arsenal."

Elsewhere in the Press, Christopher Caldwell offers these thoughts on the issue:

"The big problem in having a guy with such 'interests' involved in the surveillance of a hostile nation is, of course, blackmail. That�s why homosexuality was until recently a disqualification for sensitive foreign service. And quite reasonably, too--since there were virtually no homosexuals who would have been comfortable revealing their orientation to the whole world. This creates a paradox. The flamboyant drag queen, who doesn�t care who knows what he�s doing, poses no blackmail worries at all. The real security risk is the 'reticent,' the 'reserved,' the in-the-closet homosexual--exactly the kind of homosexual that conservatives concerned about national security are most comfortable living with. If you are looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, better to send RuPaul than Roy Cohn."