PNAC 2.0

[marmar]

from IPS:



POLITICS-US: Neo-Con Ideologues Launch New Foreign Policy Group
By Daniel Luban and Jim Lobe*


WASHINGTON, Mar 25 (IPS) - A newly-formed and still obscure neo-conservative foreign policy organisation is giving some observers flashbacks to the 1990s, when its predecessor staked out the aggressively unilateralist foreign policy that came to fruition under the George W. Bush administration.

The blandly-named Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI) - the brainchild of Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, neo-conservative foreign policy guru Robert Kagan, and former Bush administration official Dan Senor - has thus far kept a low profile; its only activity to this point has been to sponsor a conference pushing for a U.S. "surge" in Afghanistan.

But some see FPI as a likely successor to Kristol’s and Kagan’s previous organisation, the now-defunct Project for the New American Century (PNAC), which they launched in 1997 and which became best known for leading the public campaign to oust former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein both before and after the Sep. 11 attacks.

PNAC’s charter members included many figures who later held top positions under Bush, including Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, and his top deputy, Paul Wolfowitz.

FPI was founded earlier this year, but few details are available about the group, which has so far attracted no media attention. The organisation’s website lists Kagan, Kristol, and Senor, who came to prominence as a spokesman for the occupation authorities in Iraq, as the three members of its board of directors.

Two of FPI’s three staffers, policy director Jamie Fly and Christian Whiton, have come directly from foreign policy posts in the Bush administration, while the third, Rachel Hoff, last worked for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Contacted by IPS at the group's office, Fly referred all questions to Senor, who did not return the call. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46272

[babylonsister]

1. They haven't been able to absorb into their teeny, tiny

peabrains that they haven't been asked to participate and are needlessly spinning their wheels. I guess it's hard to give up ones ideology, as twisted as it was.

Related:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5335455&mesg_id=5335455

Neocons Don't Know When To Quit

[ColbertWatcher]

8. But ...

... Obama has asked them to participate.

The GOP just doesn't want to participate democratically.

They're still dreaming of a white dictatorship.

[dkofos]

2. I wish the paparazzi would dog these assholes like they do the celebrities.

And the fucking wallstreeters too.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Re-birth of the oooze, huh?

Actually, important to keep track of these nit twits.
They flew under radar last time and it cost a lot of lives.

thanks for the info, marmar.

[FreeJG]

4. Kick!

[marmar]

5. Primetime kick.....

:kick:

[ldf]

6. they're probably praying for a THIRD pearl harbor

the second one worked so well....

[marmar]

7. Praying.....or working toward one.

:scared:

[Raster]

11. I'd say "actively pursuing"....just like they did the second.

[TBF]

9. Just to start a handy list...

FPI is the new PNAC
BCTs are now referred to as "advisory and assistance brigades"
Looting is in "bad" neighborhoods, it's called "bail out" when rich folk do it
and, last but not least
Bagram is the new Guantanemo

Maybe I'm forgetting a few?

[starroute]

10. Dan Senor is more important than the article suggests

Senor's is one of those names that pops up in a lot of places, though I've never quite gotten a handle on him.

He was a top aide to Paul Bremer in Iraq back when they were bringing in all those Young Republican types. Prior to that he was with the Carlyle Group. He was also Scott McClellan's deputy at some point, and he has some sort of connection with the International Republican Institute.

"Professional propagandist" would be my best guess at his job description.

Rachel Hoff is another propagandist -- not to mention having come out of Karl Rove's and Jack Abramoff's old spawning ground, the College Republicans. According to her online biography:

http://www.dutkoworldwide.com/fellows/rachel_hoff/

Rachel Hoff works for the the National Republican Congressional Committee where she conducts research/communications for the NRCC's Independent Expenditure unit -- a small office that takes the polling and research and decides what messages should be communicated in the NRCC TV ads, mailers, and phone scripts in the top 25-30 House races. Prior to her post at the NRCC, Rachel served as a writer, researcher, and legislative assistant for Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-TX), focusing on foreign affairs and national security issues. Rachel was a 2004-2005 Dutko Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where she later spent an additional year as a foreign policy research assistant.

In the fall of 2004, Rachel served as statewide youth coordinator for the South Dakota Republican Party, mobilizing the college vote to help elect John Thune to the U.S. Senate. For the 2006 and 2007 election cycles, Rachel was field director for the Young Republican National Federation (YRNF), coordinating nationwide grassroots campaigns to elect and re-elect Republican candidates at all levels of government. In 2008 Rachel will serve as chairman of the YRNF Campaign Committee, developing and implementing a national strategy to increase young voter turnout in key presidential and congressional states. For her efforts to encourage youth involvement in GOP politics, she was named National Young Republican Woman of the Year in 2006.

At Tufts, Rachel studied Political Science and Philosophy and was president of the College Republicans.

All in all, this looks much more like a GOP propaganda shop with a few Neocon figureheads than it does like PNAC.

[Kip Humphrey]

12. Here's the URL to bookmark or monitoring

http://www.foreignpolicyi.org/index.html