Here are archives of Ledeen articles: - Ledeen at Jewish World Review
- Ledeen at National Review
- At American Enterprise Institute
- A bibliography at NameBase
- A few articles and a biography at Bendor Associates
Posted on 05/10/2003 12:12:37 AM PDT by risk
The Unknown Hawk - Neoconservative Guru Sets Sights on Iran Commentary, William O. Beeman, Pacific News Service, May 08, 2003
From “creative destruction” to “total war,” the guiding beliefs of the most aggressive foreign policymakers in the Bush administration may originate in the works of an influential yet rarely seen neoconservative.
Most Americans have never heard of Michael Ledeen, but if the United States ends up in an extended shooting war throughout the Middle East, it will be largely due to his inspiration.
A fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, Ledeen holds a Ph.D. in History and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin. He is a former employee of the Pentagon, the State Department and the National Security Council. As a consultant working with NSC head Robert McFarlane, he was involved in the transfer of arms to Iran during the Iran-Contra affair -- an adventure that he documented in the book “Perilous Statecraft: An Insider's Account of the Iran-Contra Affair.” His most influential book is last year’s “The War Against the Terror Masters: Why It Happened. Where We Are Now. How We'll Win.”
Ledeen’s ideas are repeated daily by such figures as Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz. His views virtually define the stark departure from American foreign policy philosophy that existed before the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001. He basically believes that violence in the service of the spread of democracy is America’s manifest destiny. Consequently, he has become the philosophical legitimator of the American occupation of Iraq.
Now Michael Ledeen is calling for regime change beyond Iraq. In an address entitled “Time to Focus on Iran -- The Mother of Modern Terrorism,” for the policy forum of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) on April 30, he declared, "the time for diplomacy is at an end; it is time for a free Iran, free Syria and free Lebanon."
With a group of other conservatives, Ledeen recently set up the Center for Democracy in Iran (CDI), an action group focusing on producing regime change in Iran.
Quotes from Ledeen’s works reveal a peculiar set of beliefs about American attitudes toward violence. “Change -- above all violent change -- is the essence of human history,” he proclaims in his book, “Machiavelli on Modern Leadership: Why Machiavelli's Iron Rules Are as Timely and Important Today as Five Centuries Ago.” In an influential essay in the National Review Online he asserts, “Creative destruction is our middle name. We do it automatically ... it is time once again to export the democratic revolution.”
Ledeen has become the driving philosophical force behind the neoconservative movement and the military actions it has spawned. His 1996 book, “Freedom Betrayed; How the United States Led a Global Domocratic Revolution, Won the Cold War, and Walked Away,” reveals the basic neoconservative obsession: the United States never “won” the Cold War; the Soviet Union collapsed of its own weight without a shot being fired. Had the United States truly won, democratic institutions would be sprouting everywhere the threat of Communism had been rife.
Iraq, Iran and Syria are the first and foremost nations where this should happen, according to Ledeen. The process by which this should be achieved is a violent one, termed “total war.”
“Total war not only destroys the enemy's military forces, but also brings the enemy society to an extremely personal point of decision, so that they are willing to accept a reversal of the cultural trends,” Ledeen writes. “The sparing of civilian lives cannot be the total war's first priority ... The purpose of total war is to permanently force your will onto another people."
Consequently, Ledeen has excoriated both the State Department and the United Nations for their preference for diplomatic solutions to conflict; and the CIA for equivocating on evidence that would condemn "America's enemies" and justify militant action.
“No one I know wants to wage war on Iran and Syria, but I believe there is now a clear recognition that we must defend ourselves against them,” Ledeen wrote on May 6 in the Toronto Globe and Mail.
Though he appears on conservative outlets like the Fox television network, Ledeen has not been singled out for much media attention by the Bush administration, despite his extensive influence in Washington. His views may be perceived as too extreme for most Americans, who prefer to think of the United States as pursuing violence only when attacked and manifesting primarily altruistic goals toward other nations.
Clearly a final decision has not been made on whether the United States will continue military action in Iran, Syria and Lebanon. But Ledeen has a notable track record. He was calling for attacks against Iraq throughout the 1990s, and the U.S. invasion on March 19 was a total fulfillment of his proposals. His attacks against the CIA and the State Department have contributed to the exclusion of these intelligence bodies from any effective decision making on Iraq. His attacks on Iran, even when Iran was assisting the United States, helped keep the Bush administration from seeking any rapprochement with Tehran. Were it in Ledeen's hands, we would invade Iran today.
Given both his fervor and his influence over the men with the guns, Americans should not be surprised if Ledeen's pronouncements come true.
PNS contributor William O. Beeman (William_beeman@brown.edu) teaches anthropology and directs Middle East Studies at Brown University. He is author of "Language, Status and Power in Iran," and two forthcoming books: "Double Demons: Cultural Impediments to U.S.-Iranian Understanding," and "Iraq: State in Search of a Nation."
His attacks on Iran, even when Iran was assisting the United States, helped keep the Bush administration from seeking any rapprochement with Tehran.
Considering that the Islamic Fundamentalist government of Iran is a major sponsor of global terrorism (Hezbollah, for one), why would we want rapprochement with Tehran? In fact, the Iranian people are one step away from outright revolt.
Here are archives of Ledeen articles: George W. is the most amazing president. How could anyone have imagined that such a man, who lacks all the credentials to conduct foreign policy (he hasn't traveled, he hasn't studied foreign cultures, he doesn't speak foreign languages, his knowledge of world history is skimpy, and he hasn't memorized the last decade of the New York Times) would turn out to have the best foreign-policy instincts imaginable? He reminds me more and more of Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan. He has the most important quality of a great leader: He instinctively finds the words to express what the American people believe. And his are simple words, not fancy ones.I couldn't agree more. It's clear that President Bush is listening to people who are on the side of liberty. We are taking the risks for freedom that have been put off for "future presidents" and "future congresses" for more than three generations now.
What a pleasure.
Now let's get on with the war. Faster, please. --cited at Bendora from NRO
It is also another stern rebuttal of the conceits of the intellectual class, because it shows once again that a fine president does not need advanced degrees or high standing in the salons to understand what's important.Yes!
For the third time since the Second World War we have a president without intellectual pretensions, and for the third time we've been fortunate to find a man with sound instincts and an inspiring vision.
Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush.
Maybe there's a lesson there?
There was an article by Ledeen posted in this forum not long ago, where he basically advocated for helping Iranian oppositions ousting Iranian regime, but explicitly ruled out the military invasion of Iran. The article was about his address to Iranians beamed by Iranian satellite TV in U.S.
Here is the link:
Michael Ledeen reaches millions in Iran via Iranian Satellite Television
Most Americans may not have heard of him, but he writes for NRO, he's not exactly invisible!
They must be really desperate to make him out as the next big "conspirator." To the anti-semites on the left, I say "bring it on." Each time they hint at a cabal, I hear Albert Speer's vocal chords rasping.
Oops. The name Ledeen doesn't sound Jewish.
There is a freeper MLedeen.
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