Conservative Ponderings

Lately I have been thinking about the administration's Iraq policy, the wonkish neo-con theory of nation- building, and the so-called conservative screaming heads that defend them both. Specifically, I am thinking of Hannity et. al. with respect to the latter. Anyway, the longer that I sit back and actually think about the situation, the more perplexed I become. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand the arguments presented by the national defense hawks and the policy of preemptive head-hunting associated therewith; for that is not what I speak. Let's just say, for the mere sake of argument, that the President and his administration honestly believed that Iraq posed an imminent threat to the United States. Does that explain our 3-year occupation of the sandbox and our soon-to-come presence in a third country in the region? I think it is safe to say that we are setting up shop in the Middle East and lower Asia with no real intention of wrapping up the party anytime soon. So what is going on?

The attenuated connections between Iraq and the overall War on Terror aside, I believe that anyone capable of intellectual honesty, upon a temporary abandonment of any political posturing, must see that the administration is, and has been since early 2003, implementing a Middle East policy that has been in the making for decades. It can be traced back to the Straussians, Irving Kristol and the merry gang of ex-Trotskyite neo-cons that believed that the world could, and should, be transformed into a Wilsonian-democratic wonderland via the use of American might. These guys were utopians in the classic sense and they saw nothing wrong with using the power of government to get us there. This is, in essence, the manipulation of independent nations and peoples based on the views of elitist intellectuals and power-seeking politicos. Think New Deal bureaucratic management and social engineering on a global scale. In other words, this is Big, Big, Big Government to the core. And the entire house cards rests upon the premise that a well-intentioned government can solve the worlds problems; shape public opinions; and make us all feel, just, oh-so-swell. Do you follow? And for some unknown reason, the Bush administration has willingly signed on, picked up the ball, and is making like Forest Gump towards the sunset. Even more baffling is the daily cheerleading of self-described conservatives like Hannity, Coulter and Limbaugh who seem to refuse to recognize the obvious hypocrisy. Am I really the only one that sees these contradictions? I do not think that it is fair, and certainly not intellectually honest, to say, "Big Government at home - no way! Big Government abroad - no sweat!" So what am I missing? Perhaps I'll understand at some later time; but, I doubt it.