[Peace-discuss] What élites are thinking…
C. G. Estabrook
galliher at uiuc.edu
Mon Jul 7 22:20:28 CDT 2008
Mort is right on the terminological point, but the article at best begins the
discussion. Here's an attempt to sketch the difference:
[1] The only important political struggle in the US is happening within the
executive; the Congress, the courts, and of course the populace are generally
irrelevant to it.
[2] There are two principal factions in the executive who nevertheless share a
general agreement on US policy, particularly on the bedrock principle that the
US must control, by any means necessary, the energy resources of the Mideast, in
order to control its principal competitors in the world, viz., the EU and NE Asia.
[3] An earlier political rhetoric might have called them "tendencies," but
almost any terminology will do, so long as here's agreement on its meaning.
"Neocons" and "elite," if you wish, altho' the first is too narrow (is McCain a
neocon?) and the second, too broad (are neocons not elite?).
[4] The first faction ("neocons") are New Cold Warriors, who want to
reestablish the geopolitics of a fantasized Eisenhower administration with Iraq
as a settled and compliant US satellite (like South Korea) and Iran taking the
bete noire role once played by the USSR. They dream of nuclear weapons but in
fact act cautiously.
[5] The second faction ("elite") are New Fronterriers, who want to reestablish
the geopolitics of a fantasized Kennedy administration with Iraq turned over to
death squads (as Kennedy did Latin America) and "forward defense" expanded in
Afghanistan and Pakistan (as Kennedy did in SE Asia). They dream of special
operations and in fact act with a covert belligerence.
[6] The two factions inter-penetrate, but to the first belong the Office of the
Vice President, Rumsfeld civilians in the Pentagon, and the Petraeus set of
military philosophers. To the second belong the foreign policy establishment in
the State Department, Gates' civilians in the Pentagon, and many flag and
general officers (including most of the JCS).
[7] The second faction in general has the agreement of the "humanitarian
interventionists" like Samantha Power, much of the CIA and foreign policy
intellectuals in the Democratic party (e.g., Clinton's Richard Holbrooke and
Obama's Anthony Lake).
I'm not finally very happy with this sketch, nor am I entirely convinced that it
works; I'd be glad to see a better one -- but it would have to "save the
phenomena." --CGE
Brussel Morton K. wrote:
> By Max Elbaum. What Elbaum calls the élite, Carl calls "liberals". This
> is a sensible article, but how does he know?
>
> Here's an extract: (the complete article in pdf form is at
> http://www.war-times.org/pdf/WT%20MiR-Jun08.pdf )
> ...
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