Rumors of the Neocons' Demise Are Greatly Exaggerated

[Manix]

By Jacob Heilbrunn



<snip>


Neoconservatism is finished. According to the conventional wisdom, the Pentagon's top neocons, like Paul D. Wolfowitz, Douglas J. Feith and William J. Luti, have been discredited by the insurgency in Iraq, by Abu Ghraib and by growing public discontent with the war. The United Nations has been invited back — begged, really — while the organization's chief opponent, Richard Perle, has been marginalized. The exposure of Iraqi exile leader Ahmad Chalabi as a charlatan, and possibly as an Iranian spy, has delivered the knockout punch. The neocons have lost President Bush's confidence, it seems, and will be abandoned if he wins a second term.

That's the way the story goes, anyway. In Washington, it is widely believed, easy to understand and fun to pass along. But it is also wrong.


<snip>


For one thing, Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have made no fundamental revisions in foreign policy. Sure, they've made a few modest concessions to Europe and the U.N. on Iraq. But the basics remain unchanged: Bush isn't bailing out of Iraq, and more than 100,000 U.S. troops will remain there for at least another year.

Rather than tone down his rhetoric, Bush has adhered to the twin neoconservative themes of promoting democracy abroad and aggressively employing U.S. military power. "If is abandoned to dictators and terrorists," he said June 2, "it will be a constant source of violence and alarm, exporting killers of increasing destructive power to attack America and other free nations."

Nor has Bush wavered in his support of Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, an ally of the neocons. The president has insisted that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat be sidelined. He has slapped sanctions on Syria and pushed to isolate Iran. If this is moving away from neoconservatism, what would an embrace look like?




LA Times

[physioex]

1. Never expected Bunnypants to turn away from the neocons...

Remeber the heat Rummy took for Abu Gharib and never got fired...Why would anyone think he would change course in his policies?? The neocons were always charlatans in my eyes, the war in Iraq has proven this to the rest of intelligent population. I won't sit around holding my breath Shrub will change his policies, my hope involves getting rid of these people starting next year and never hear from them again.....That comes from a regime change at home...

[Trajan]

2. Rally to the cause ...

FIRE the Neocons: because Bush wont ...

[drfemoe]

3. bzt. wrong answer

the neos 'are' gw .. there is no abandonment or even 'distancing'.
No can do.
At least some folks are writing about them.

[physioex]

5. Essentially what I said in my post...EOM

[whistle]

4. Neoconservatives are like scorpions that can still sting...

...even after they are dead. The only safe neo-con is one that has been vaporized.:nuke: hehehe I haven't used this in a while.

[rooboy]

6. The neocons and Bush are hanging on like Hitler in Stalingrad.

It's going to get worse before it's all over, but it will eventually be over.

[swinney]

7. Home is Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute

They are well funded.