posted April 13, 2003 at 10:25 PM MDT
A nice note on which to end this day: "They are not opportunists; they are ideologues."
How neoconservatives conquered Washington -- and launched a war [salon.com] - By Michael Lind "First they converted an ignorant, inexperienced president to their pro-Israel, hawkish worldview. Then 9/11 allowed them to claim Iraq threatened the U.S. The rest is on CNN tonight. [I still like my idea of them having constructed and then let Hussein loose to provide a solid pretext. h_b]
America's allies and enemies alike are baffled. What is going on in the United States? Who is making foreign policy? And what are they trying to achieve? Quasi-Marxist explanations involving big oil or American capitalism are mistaken. Yes, American oil companies and contractors will accept the spoils of the kill in Iraq. But the oil business, with its Arabist bias, did not push for this war any more than it supports the Bush administration's close alliance with Ariel Sharon. Further, President Bush and Vice President Cheney are not genuine "Texas oil men" but career politicians who, in between stints in public life, would have used their connections to enrich themselves as figureheads in the wheat business, if they had been residents of Kansas, or in tech companies, had they been Californians."
I suggest you give this one a good read. And with this *doffs hat*, good night.