The New American Militarism - New boys in town

[Dover]

THE NEW AMERICAN MILITARISM
New boys in town
By Andrew J Bacevich


In our own time - and especially since the ascendancy of George W Bush to the presidency - "neo-conservative" has become a term of opprobrium, frequently accompanied by ad hominem attacks and charges of arrogance and hubris. But the heat generated by the term also stands as a backhanded tribute, an acknowledgment that the neo-conservative impact has been substantial. It is today too soon to offer a comprehensive assessment of that impact. The discussion of neo-conservatism offered here has a more modest objective, namely, to suggest that one aspect of the neo-conservative legacy has been to foster the intellectual climate necessary for the emergence of the new American militarism.

As a practical matter, the task of reinventing neo-conservatism for a post-communist world - and of spelling out an "imperial self-definition" of American purpose - fell to a new generation. To promote that effort, leading members of that new generation created their own institutions.

The passing of the baton occurred in 1995. That year, Norman Podhoretz stepped down as editor of Commentary. That same year, William Kristol founded a new journal, the Weekly Standard, which in short order established itself as the flagship publication of second-generation neo-conservatives. Although keeping faith with neo-conservative principles that Commentary had staked out over the previous two decades - and for a time even employing Norman's son John Podhoretz in a senior editorial position - the Standard was from the outset an altogether different publication. From its founding, Commentary had been published by the American Jewish Committee, an august and distinctly non-partisan entity. The Weekly Standard relied for its existence on the largess of Rupert Murdoch, the notorious media mogul. Unlike Commentary, which had self-consciously catered to an intellectual elite, the Standard - printed on glossy paper, replete with cartoons, caricatures, and political gossip - had a palpably less lofty look and feel. It was by design smart rather than stuffy. Whereas Commentary had evolved into a self-consciously right-wing version of the self-consciously progressive Dissent, the Standard came into existence as a neo-conservative counterpart to the neo-liberal New Republic. Throughout Norman Podhoretz's long editorial reign, Commentary had remained an urbane and sophisticated journal of ideas, aspiring to shape the terms of political debate even as it remained above the muck and mire of politics as such. Beginning with Volume 1, No 1, the editors of the Standard did not disguise the fact that they sought to have a direct and immediate impact on policy; not ideas as such but political agitation defined the purpose of this new enterprise.

Better than anything else, location told the tale. Commentary's editorial offices were on Manhattan's East Side; for first-generation neo-conservatives, the East River on one side and the Hudson on the other defined the universe. In contrast, the Standard set up shop just a few blocks from the White House; for William Kristol and his compatriots, the perimeter of the Washington Beltway delineated the world that mattered. ..>>

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/GD26Aa01.html

[rodeodance]

1. The new BushCo "culture of Militarism" does NOT equate with the his

proposed cuture of life!! no can do!

[KoKo]

2. This article is a very interesting read....although I was gagging

throughout the read...it's still worth it.

Amazing that there was no "counter" to the insurgence of rhetoric of the "Baby Con's," isn't it. It's as if THEY were the ONLY intellectual voices in America and they built their careers on their Daddy's just lik the "Chimp-in-Thief."

Somehow of all I've read about the rise of the Neo-Cons and their spawn this article was the hardest to get through...because I wanted to SCREAM....WHERE WAS THE RESISTENCE TO THESE PSYCHOPATHS with their visions of American "Benign Domination of the World."

Where was EVERYONE while they co-opted our Government and made their "Devil's Bargain" with the Religious Right Evangelicals.

We were so busy defending Clinton against Monica that maybe the "thinkers" on the Left were totally distracted from the evil coming "down the pike."

It's just depressing.