Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Penelope Pnortney's avatar

So much food for thought in this. First, the 1970s and 1980s also saw the rise of the neocons who invaded and eventually took over the space then occupied by traditional conservatives. Although I think this piece - https://www.unz.com/runz/the-neocons-and-their-rise-to-power/ - gives too much of a pass to Cheney and Rumsfeld, it's probably an accurate depiction otherwise: "By 2000, the Neocons had gained almost total control of all the major conservative/Republican media outlets and the foreign policy wings of nearly all the similarly aligned thinktanks in DC, successfully purging most of their traditional opponents. So although Cheney and Rumsfeld were not themselves Neocons, they were swimming in a Neocon sea, with a very large fraction of all the information they received coming from such sources and with their top aides such as “Scooter” Libby, Paul Wolfowitz, and Douglas Feith being Neocons.."

"Furthermore the political circumstances of the 9/11 Attacks and the Iraq War that soon followed provided the Neocons an opportunity to purge all their critics, conservative and liberal alike, from the mainstream media:"

"After having controlled American foreign policy for more than three decades, promoting their allies and protégés and purging their opponents, the adherents of that world view now constitute nearly the entire political establishment, including control of the leading thinktanks and publications. By now, I doubt there are many prominent figures in either party who follow a sharply different line. Furthermore, over the last two decades, the national security-focused Neocons have largely merged with the economically-focused neoliberals, forming a unified ideological block that represents the political worldview of the elites running both American parties."

"Also around that time [ late 1960s and the 1970s], Commentary magazine, edited by Norman Podhoretz and based in the same city, moved in a similar direction, replacing its enthusiasm for the radical New Left with sharp criticism, and becoming the leading American publication associated with the early neoconservative movement... Commentary was also the flagship publication of the American Jewish Committee and Podhoretz himself deeply identified with Jewish issues. Those factors impacted his editorial line, which naturally included a major focus upon Israel and the Middle East along with the plight of Soviet Jewry. Partly for such reasons, a hawkish foreign policy including heavy emphasis on the Cold War soon became important Neocon concerns."

-

And second, the zionist connection. Paul Wolfowitz was a disciple of Leo Strauss (https://www.voltairenet.org/article215855.html): "According to many accounts, [Strauss] had formed a small group of faithful students to whom he gave oral instruction. There is no written record of this. He explained to them that the only way for the Jews not to fall victim to a new genocide was to form their own dictatorship. He called them Hoplites (the soldiers of Sparta) and sent them to disrupt the courts of his rivals. Finally, he taught them discretion and praised the “noble lie”. Although he died in 1973, his student fraternity continued."

Expand full comment
Diana van Eyk's avatar

Expecting common sense from western leaders seems pretty futile. What will it take to bring about a just peace in the world, I wonder.

Expand full comment
49 more comments...

No posts