America: a Beacon, not a Policeman	Neo-conservatives Trying to Pressure Powell	Americans Against World Empire, Inc.  Homepage

Neo-conservatives Trying to Pressure Powell  "War Party" wants policy jobs   8/12/01

                                                                by   Jon Basil Utley                                                                                                                                   

            Secretary of State Powell is already under attack by the “WarParty.”  Carefully, because of his popularity, they are mobilizing, hoping that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, called the 800 pound guerrilla for his knowledge and capabilities, will dominate Administration foreign policy decisions.  Particularly “The Bombers”, as Powell reportedly calls them, are vying for foreign policy posts in the new Bush regime.  Powell, known for urging restraint about attacking foreign nations, has a 77% approval rating in a recent CNN/Time poll, the highest of any Bush appointee.

Only one of their numbers so far, Paul Wolfowitz, has made it to a top position,  Deputy Secretary of Defense.   Wolfowitz is known for threatening Russia with war in 1992 over the Baltic nations (which it had already freed) and urging NATO expansion and encirclement of the newly de-communized Russia (see Wolfowitz Factor)  Later, as an advisor to Bush, he rushed to Texas when Clinton started bombing Kosovo, to convince Bush to support NATO’s attack.  Bush had held back for the first day or two, pondering about whether to lend his support.

President Bush seems aware of their threat and, so far, has held them off.  They, meanwhile, have put their hopes on Rumsfeld and are pushing for one of their number, American Enterprise Institute Vice President John Bolton, to be named United Nations Ambassador.  Bolton’s AEI just released a paper urging the United States (with Israel) to “strike fatally” (presumably bombing and invading) Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Gaza.  AEI’s December newsletter promoted the mass killings of foreign civilians by Washington to avenge any attacks upon American military targets, so Americans can keep their "self respect."  That's why they are called  “TheWarParty” or “The Bombers.”   Their main press organs, typified by the neo-conservative WEEKLY STANDARD, supported bombing Kosovo, demand constantly new bombings of Iraq, and now promote military confrontations with China.  The STANDARD last year editorialized that any budget surpluses should be used for increased military spending.   Equally the “War Party” works rabidly against any peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israel and pushes for NATO expansion up to Russia's borders in the Baltics and Caucasus.

They are very powerful in Washington, also dominating the major think tanks, except CATO, and almost all the conservative publications.  A typical attack now is an article by WASHINGTON TIMES columnist Frank Gaffney in the AMERICAN SPECTATOR on-line (1/19). Fearing that the Bush Administration was “encouraging the Jewish State to continue negotiating…..with the Palestinians,” Gaffney criticized Powell for reports that “he intends to rely upon the State Department’s professionals rather than independent experts,” e.g. Gaffney's allies, the neo-conservatives…… "many of State’s career bureaucrats and Foreign Service officers have been prime-movers behind the so-called ‘peace process'….. likely to mortally imperil the Jewish state”……Gaffney is described in the Jewish FORWARD newspaper (1/19) as a conservative “with close ties to the Israeli right.”  It then quotes Gaffney as hoping that “Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz could have greater authority than Powell.

The point about Powell is that he knows first hand much about the rest of the world, having worked with foreign nationals in many countries, including having been a young advisor to Vietnamese troops in the field.  And indeed, Vice President Cheney himself now knows much more about foreign nations, after his years running a major multi-national oil company.  Washington’s "Neo-cons" don't know much about non-European nations; most spent their working lives as Washington policy wonks. Almost none have business backgrounds.  Most know little more of the world than having been with official delegations or perhaps having done some study in England when they were young.  Hardly any served in the military or speak Spanish.  They are the brains of the "War Party," supported by the big conservative foundations, military/industrial industries and other Washington interests which benefit from (small) wars.  For more see "Beltway Bombers." 

They have a totally distorted idea that America could easily rule the world, with their advice.   George Kennan, America’s senior diplomat and historian, compares American power today to German power over Europe, when he served in Berlin in l941.  Germany appeared invincible, but soon brought about its own demise.  In urging American restraint, he also argues now, “This planet is never going to be ruled from any single political center, whatever its military power.”

Neo-con power in Washington might be less fearful if foreign "catastrophic terrorism" (as the American Bar Association calls it) didn’t appear so plausible.   It’s not the innocent booing of Brazilians,  when singer Britney Spears put forth an American flag at her road show.  Since Clinton, millions of foreigners now fear and many hate America.  New technology and weaponry make striking at American cities, be it with stolen or crudely made nukes or new biological agents (see Nightmare of Bioterrorism, FOREIGN AFFAIRS, JAN, 01), newly terrifying.

Bush, by nature, seems far less likely to launch foreign wars, but the temptation in Washington for making wars can be irresistable.   He also has valuable “real world” foreign policy experience from dealing with Mexico as Texas’ governor.   Powell was always cautious.  But Washington’s "War Party" and neo-cons are working feverishly to put their people in the second and third tier levels of the State, Defense, CIA and National Security Council staffs.  Whether Rumsfeld, an old hawk, will continue to be their patron is not yet clear. He has in the past contributed (see newsmax.com) to Gaffney's Think Tank and is highly praised by the interventionists.  His congressional testimony indicated that America should not be much concerned about its European allies' or other nations' opinions.

See also http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46994-2002Mar18.html for info. on neo-con takeover of White House.

Mr. Utley is the Robert A. Taft Fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute.  He was a former foreign correspondent in South America for Knight Ridder Newspapers.  A long time anti-communist, he has been on the Board of Directors or Advisors of many conservative organizations.