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A neocon view.

This article by Former Neoconservative Francis Fukuyama outlines how the how and why things have gone badly in Iraq and how the current neocon regime was not expecting the type of reaction from the rest of the world as they got.  The article is quite long and verry interesting.  He does go into detail about the american mind and from his words

“Americans are not, at heart, an imperial people. Even benevolent hegemons sometimes have to act ruthlessly, and they need a staying power that does not come easily to people who are reasonably content with their own lives and society.”

He also touches a bit on history.  I would recommend reading it and please give comments on this article.  I’m interested in your views, esp that of junyor and mensrea.

Posted under Politics

This post was written by Oracle on March 13, 2006

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    Wow. That is a pretty heavy article for you to post. I am not sure that Fukuyama’s article is helpful in deciphering how the United States should approach foreign policy. (Maybe the book goes into more detail / doubt that I will invest the energy of reading it.) In my opinion this article is, to quote WS, “Full of sound and fury; signifying nothing”

    You may want to take a look at “The End of Fukuyama: Why his latest pronouncements miss the mark. By Christopher Hitchens” to get a better understanding of the opposition to Fukuyama’s point of view.

    However, I think both authors miss the point. In my humble opinion, Anti-Americanism is a product of America’s status as the preeminent superpower in the world.

    It seems to me that the real argument is how to approach foreign policy (soft power – diplomacy & economics) vs (hard power – bombs & troops). To that I only have one response, to quote TR, "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far"

    How will history remember this war? I don’t have a crystal ball and I doubt that Mr. Fukuyama does either.
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    Wow. I just got a flashback to college, specifically world civ to 1860. That man was a master at getting completely away from the topic at hand.

    But I digress.

    Did I approve of us going to war? Absolutely. For the simple reason that we said that we would if Hussein did not allow weapon inspectors into Iraq. Boy who cried 'wolf', anyone? However, I'm really not certain I agree with us putting a democratic government in power. I'm thinking that the only way that democracy is truly appreciated is if it's purchased with the blood of patriots.

    But that's just me. And I'm not sure what we should have done instead, either, so who am I to point fingers?
 

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