I always thought there was something a bit simplistic about the neo-con interventionist schtick and remember being somewhat perplexed and irritated by the glib assurances and confidence of its supporters.
I also admit to being uneasy and unsure about the interventions in both Afghanistan and Iraq, thinking that we were biting off way more than we could chew and not seeing any way we could “win” in the long term because those places are simply not manageable in the sense that Western nations are.
I kept quiet (for the most part) because I told myself that the President and his advisors had access to far more information than I did, and if they felt these were necessary steps, I should settle down and let them get on with the job.
Now, with the clarity that hindsight brings, I think I was pretty much spot on, that my doubts about the Neocon platform have pretty much proven true, and that an isolationist, or at least minimal interventionist foreign policy would have served our interests much better.
Cold comfort now, but better late then never, I guess.
My issue with neocons would be that they have a simplistic view of foreign policy. Bow down to democracy and human rights or we will destroy you. They don’t even realize that some countries would prefer a non-Democratic government to rule over them. Not only that, neo-cons complain if a country freely elects a government that opposes democracy and human rights. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
“I kept quiet (for the most part) because I told myself that the President and his advisors had access to far more information than I did, and if they felt these were necessary steps, I should settle down and let them get on with the job.”
I used to trust that people in power in the corporations I worked for had better information and that’s why they did the things they did. Then, Honeywell bought Wang computers, paying 90% of what someone else had paid for the much larger conglomeration. This, to get mainframe office automation. Us engineers were appalled. PC’s were on the way in and it was obvious mainframe word processing was a still-born. Two years later Honeywell took the largest write-down in business history and my faith in leadership has never been the same. Since then I’ve watched leader after leader charge into the abyss of bankruptcy with all the glee of a winning general. Of course, none of them personally suffered as they drifted in a stately manner to earth on their golden parachutes. The rest of us, on the other hand, suffered mightily. Now I do all my own thinking and I’m generally right. You and I were right about Iraq and the war. On the other hand, all wars have traditionally been sold to the public on truth, justice and the American way. Going over there to kick some ass so they respect us and leave us alone is not a salable regimen. But “giving” freedom and democracy to Islamists is like giving a deck of cards and a Bridge rulebook to a bull.