by Taki Theodoracopulos
Eight years ago Pat Buchanan and I founded The American Conservative, an American national biweekly whose purpose was to expose what nation-building does to those stupid enough to want to build. It was my idea and I put up the money, Pat lent his name recognition, and a third person, Scott McConnell, was named editor by me. The first cover’s headline was “How Victory Could Spell American Defeat.” This was six months before the invasion of Iraq, and Buchanan got it spot on when he wrote that we would be there for at least five to ten years and that the war would cost hundreds of billions.
Eight years ago Pat Buchanan and I founded The American Conservative, an American national biweekly whose purpose was to expose what nation-building does to those stupid enough to want to build. It was my idea and I put up the money, Pat lent his name recognition, and a third person, Scott McConnell, was named editor by me. The first cover’s headline was “How Victory Could Spell American Defeat.” This was six months before the invasion of Iraq, and Buchanan got it spot on when he wrote that we would be there for at least five to ten years and that the war would cost hundreds of billions.
We all know the rest. There was no “slam dunk.” It’s $750 billion and counting, 4,500 American dead and 35,000 wounded, 100,000 to 300,000 Iraqi dead, 2 million in exile, and uncounted lives wrecked. And there’s no end in sight. Iraq is split in three between Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds, there is no freedom except for those with the gun, and an oil rich area has failed to provide even reliable electricity. Yet Bush and Blair have declared they would do it all over again, that it’s a victory over tyranny etc, etc, etc. Iraq is lawless and swarming with terrorists, yet the real architects of the war, the neo-cons, have managed to whitewash their part in Uncle Sam’s greatest foreign policy disaster ever. And made it look easy. The whitewash, that is.
They accused the critics of the war to be anti-Semitic, because – now get this – neo-con was a code word for Jew. We knew enough to differentiate between Judaism and Zionism.Here are a few of the bad guys: Daniel Pipes, Elliot Abrams, Douglas Feith, Bill Kristol, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, Norman and John Podhoretz, the Kagan brothers, Dick Cheney, and, of course, the Bobsy twins, Bush and Blair. None of the above are stupid or unread men except for John – four pizzas – Podhoretz. George W Bush sounds dumb but is not. Kristol is a tiny, ugly, rat of a man who always backs the wrong horse, but very clever. Perle, Wolfowitz, Feith, Pipes and Abrams are ardent Zionists. Cheney was in it for business reasons. Yet despite their smarts none of the above listened to what history had to say.
Read the rest here.
Yet despite their smarts none of the above listened to what history had to say.
ReplyDelete'Course they did! History says power-hungry tyrant maniacs will live good off the hard-work and misery of others. This is what power-hungry tyrant maniacs have always done and will always do. These men sized themselves up, decided they wouldn't give a rats ass if that's how they became rich and powerful and started schemin'.
We have to stop analyzing the actions of other people as if everyone wants the same thing in life and everyone is equally concerned with living a life of moral justice.
Far from ignoring the lessons of history, these men tuned in and executed as men like they might, to a T.
Sounds like a bunch of sour grapes and not much more.
ReplyDeleteYes, the neo-cons, have managed to whitewash their part in Uncle Sam’s greatest foreign policy disaster ever
ReplyDeleteI do not mean any offense, but I never have, nor would I now pick up any publication entitled American Conservative as I am concerned, simply by title, it would be infiltrated by neocons.
Finally through much study and happenstance, I know the difference between Judaism and Zionism.
As I reflect back on the history of neoconservatism, it would never have come into existence without Leo Strauss and his teachings which he communicated to Paul Wolfowitz; things like: "the strong must rule the weak".
Yes, bad, really bad guys: Daniel Pipes, Elliot Abrams, Douglas Feith, Bill Kristol, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz ... Zionists all. Dick Cheney a robber baron and of course the Lords, Bush and Blair.
You write: "Yet despite their smarts none of the above listened to what history had to say". Well, I think they wanted to make history, that is be philosopher kings.
Well, I'm a Reformed Christian. And because of that faith, I believe the things that happened were "fated to happen". Yes ordained, from Eternity Past. I believe God wrote the script, and that the aforementioned leaders were actors in his Divine Plan. I believe that God is Sovereign and he has reasons for all the havoc and ill worked through those bad dudes. So I don't too stressed out.