The Neocon Myth

by John Hawkins | October 23, 2003 1:05 am

You have just got to read this unhinged editorial about neocons from Paul Craig Roberts[1] that appeared in Newsmax of all places. Here are a few snippets from this loopy editorial….

“Neo-Jacobins are known to Americans as “neoconservatives,” a clever euphemism behind which hides a gang of radicals who stand outside of, and opposed to, the American tradition.”

“Ryn shows that Jacobins have not a drop of conservative blood in their veins.”

“…the Jacobin agenda is to remake America into an empire capable of imposing virtue on the world.

“Once Americans associated invading foreign countries (Afghanistan) with the “war on terror,” Jacobins shifted the “terrorist threat” to Iraq. Now they are working to shift it to Syria, Iran and Lebanon. Next will be Saudi Arabia and Egypt.”

“The Jacobin agenda requires large numbers of American troops and heavy taxation to support massive military budgets. It means the return of the draft.

It also explains why Jacobins are unconcerned with our own country’s porous borders while they seek to control Middle Eastern borders. The hordes of young Mexicans pouring into the United States are a convenient source of cannon fodder, just as President Lincoln redirected the flow of Irish immigrants in his day into the Union Army.”

“Jacobins are dangerous because they lack historical understanding and rely on abstract righteousness to impose ideological unity. Their drive for like-mindedness implies coercion, the gulag and the Orwellian state. The Jacobin agenda means the end of Western civilization.”

“Jacobins are to be found among both political parties and among both “conservative” and “liberal” columnists. As a result of conservative befuddlement, Jacobins now control the formerly conservative media, foundations and think tanks, and they occupy most of the putatively “conservative” posts in universities.”

I’m not going to pull any punches here. Roberts is making about as much sense as the nuts who claim that the Illuminati rule the world. Moreover, 95% of what you see written about neocons is purely delusional poppycock that the writers may as well just be making up off the top of their heads.

The reality is that the term neocon was originally coined to describe left-wingers who moved to the right. Beyond that, even prominent neoconservatives like Jonah Goldberg[2] & Max Boot[3] can’t describe any truly coherent set of beliefs that neocons adhere to.

But even if you ascribe hawkish pro-Democracy foreign policy views to all neocons, there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between the way neocons like Richard Perle & Paul Wolfowitz believe we should prosecute the war on terrorism and the way run-of the-mill conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, Donald Rumsfeld, and Victor Davis Hanson think we should go about it.

So all these ridiculous claims that the mysterious and spooky neocons are going to bring back the draft so we can invade Egypt, set-up an American empire, and end Western civilization are just that — ridiculous claims made by people who quite frankly don’t have any idea what they’re talking about.

Endnotes:
  1. Paul Craig Roberts: http://newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/10/22/43249.shtml
  2. Jonah Goldberg: http://www.nationalreview.com/goldberg/goldberg052003.asp
  3. Max Boot: http://www.benadorassociates.com/article/180

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/uncategorized/the-neocon-myth/