EXCERPT Jacob Heilbrunn of The National Interest---related to the Nixon Center which hosted neocon Richard Perle recently-----has written two very interesting articles on the plight of the neo-cons after the Republican debacle in November 2008.
The first, published December 19, addresses the departure of Joshua Muravchik and Marc Reuel Gerecht,and the earlier departure of Michael Ledeen, from the foreign-policy ranks of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
Ledeen and Gerecht found a new home at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) which is basically a version of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC). Muravchik, who, like Ledeen, had been associated with AEI for some 20 years, has apparently yet to find a new perch.
Heilbrunn suggests that these departures are evidence of an ideological purge against neo-cons.
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The second article by Heilbrunn appears in the Jan 12 issue of The American Conservative.
It speculates on the internal splits that the neo-cons are going through as a result of the 2008 political campaign, Obamas victory, and the possibility that at least one major faction headed by people like Robert Kagan, David Brooks and even David Frum will seek to forge an alliance with liberal interventionists, presumably led by Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton (although Susan Rice also fits the bill), in the new administration...... much as they did during the Clinton administration with respect to Balkans policy.
Heilbrunns analysis offers a good point of departure for watching the neo-cons......as the Age of Obama gets underway.
Heilbrunn is the author of "They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons."