A Brit’s-Eye View of the Neocons
The Economist this week in its “Lexington” column (on U.S. politics) tracks the slow-motion implosion of the neoconservatives. They tick off a few of the most conspicuous embarrassments (Libby, Wolfowitz, Feith, Rumsfeld, Cheney’s extreme unpopularity, Condolezza’s retreat to the “realist” camp), and go on from there. Excerpts:
*
“… whom the gods would destroy they first make neocons.”
*
“The ‘surge’ is a desperate response to failure. Many people see Messrs Kristol and Krauthammer as exhibits in a Ripley’s Believe it or Not exhibition: they marvel that they can ever have been so influential, rather than want to follow their advice again.”
*
“The rising generation of policy intellectuals regards a reputation for neoconservatism as professional death.”
*
“Gary Schmitt, a fellow neocon, complained of Mr. Feith that he ‘can’t manage anything and he doesn’t trust anyone else’s judgment.’ General Tommy Franks describes him as the ‘dumbest fucking guy on the planet’.”
*
“The tragedy of neoconservatism is that the movement began as a critique of the arrogance of power…. The neocons have not only messed up American foreign policy by forgetting their founders’ insights. They may also have put a stake through the heart of heir own movement.”
No Comments »
No comments yet.
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>