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Neocon Nuttery See other Neocon Nuttery Articles Title: Thuggish Madness The NYO on N-Pod's WWIV: “I was asked to come in and give him a briefing on the war, World War IV,” said Mr. Podhoretz, a founding father of neoconservatism and leading foreign policy adviser to Mr. Giuliani. “As far as I can tell there is very little difference in how he sees the war and how I see it...” ...“My view has been, and I very much doubt that Giuliani would disagree with what I am about to say, what we are doing is to try and clear the ground that has been covered over at least since WWI,” he said. “Draining the swamps is the beginning of the process of clearing the ground, and planting the seeds from which institutions can grow the foundations of a free society.” In the context of a broader, longer war that he expects will take at least three decades to win, the casualties that the United States has so far endured are “miniscule.” He says that fretting about whether to attack Iran sends only a message of weakness to the combined Shiite and Sunni enemies in the Middle East. And, like Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Podhoretz thinks that the creation of an independent Palestinian state would now only create another terrorist state. Instead, America should be working to overthrow governments in Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt and “every one of the despotic regimes in that region, by force if necessary and by nonmilitary means if possible,” he said. “They are fronts of the war. You can’t do everything at once. And to have toppled two of those regimes in five years or six years is I think a major achievement. And maybe George Bush won’t be able to carry it further, but I think he will. It may have just been given to him to start act one of the five-act play.” [emphasis added] Notice the language Podhoretz uses. "Draining the swamps". "Clearing the ground". A "five-act" play. This is like a breezy parlor game, isn't it? Here we are, approximately 5,000 dead Americans (including contractors) in Iraq, over a hundred thousand dead Iraqis, 4 million displaced or refugees, $500 billion plus down the hole, the peace process moribund (Annapolis, if it comes to pass even, will be a risible affair), Afghanistan faltering, ditto Lebanon, Pakistan under significant strains, and so on (believe me, this is not meant to be a comprehensive list)--and amidst this chaos we have the leading Republican Presidential candidate being briefed by his chosen eminence grise (as the Observer article notes, the Giuliani campaign has become "something of a lifeboat for neoconservatives shipwrecked after the Bush administration’s failures in Iraq") that we are just starting Act II (Afghanistan & Iraq ostensibly just Act I), and must proceed to Iran, Syria, Saudia Arabia and Egypt? Imagine such insane policy prescriptions being (even remotely) implemented as foreign policy, let alone by a man with well noted authoritarian tendencies, and to top it off, with the policy execution being delegated to Bernie Kerik caliber pit-bulls? This is a recipe for a Presidency exponentially worse than even Bush 43's (yes, I know, it's hard to imagine). Look, if this means holding one's nose for another dynastic turn with Hillary so be it, even if we need to suffer though the Michael O'Hanlon gaggles advising her on the deep nuances of Iraq 'bottom-up' reconciliation ad nauseam. The alternative is simply unthinkable, and cannot be allowed to pass. Put differently, let's all be careful not to think of N-Pod as some adorable, avuncular mensch sparkling with aperçus in a book-lined UES apartment, one whose ideas deserve serious attention. His policy recommendations, if we can call them that, are more reminiscent of the brutish tactics of street gangs battling for turf. It is shocking more sane individuals aren't shouting same from the rooftops. Especially as, transplanted from street corners to the global stage, this parody of principled pugnaciousness amounts to madness. Thuggish madness. After all, the teeming masses in Teheran, Cairo and Damascus don't want to be bombed into freedom because of the dying schoolyard fantasy-like gasps of a totally discredited intellectual movement.
Poster Comment: I will not under any circumstances vote for Giuliani, whether he's on the Republican ticket or not. I would vote for Hillary rather than that fascist cockroach. There - I've said it. :P
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#1. To: Peetie Wheatstraw (#0)
you could think of it as a vote AGAINST the cockroach rather than as a vote FOR anybody. I've done that.
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