ABSTRACT
Questions of naiveté and sophistication aside, there are two critical components to Caveat that make it significant reading: Alexander Haig's innermost thoughts on the role of appointed officials in government service and the course of events that Haig helped to determine. Haig's greatest triumph was to keep the relationship between China and the United States alive and well despite differences on the future of Taiwan. The one time in the book that Haig criticizes Reagan, he notes that the president's reassertion at a news conference that the Taiwan Relations Act would be carried out as the law of the land played havoc with his diplomatic efforts to strengthen Sino-American relations. In the end, Haig's position prevailed: strong economic assistance to China and continued medium-level arms sales to Taiwan, but with recognition of a future reunification of Taiwan to China. The deep concern expressed by Haig about "leaks" and "plants" is a carryover from his days in the military and business.
