In your opinion, what characteristics can best describe a NEOCON? and are these evident in the White House?

Question

Answer from any side of the political spectrum.

Answer 1

Rabid, xenophobic and jingoistic fundamentalists, all of 'em. Are they evident at the White House? Well, is the Pope Catholic?

And neocons, by the way, are no different to fundamentalists everywhere, including Osama bin Laden and his followers.

Answer 2

Neocons in the White House

Richard Cheney, Vice President.
Brought in the Neocons.
• Opposed Powell's pick for Defense Sec. and proposed Rumsfeld (C.S. Monitor).
• Championed Wolfowitz.
• Picked Libby as his Chief of staff.
• Picked Wurmser as his Advisor on Middle Eastern Affairs.

Connections to Neocons:
1969-71, Office of Econ. Opportunity, assistant to Rumsfeld.
1974-75, White House, Deputy Chief of Staff under Rumsfeld.
1989-93, DOD with Wolfowitz, Libby. (Sec. of Defense)
1996-00, JINSA (Advisory Board Member) with
Wolfowitz, Feith, Perle, Bolton
1997-??, PNAC (signer of "Principles") with
Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Abrams, Bolton, Libby.

Answer 3

Before one can understand neocons, or neo-conservatives, one must understand how the idea has developed. It is also important to keep in mind that neocon is a term academics use to describe people, not one people generally use to describe themselves.

Traditionally, the field of international relations has been divided into two major philosophical paradigms: Liberals and Realists.

Liberals believe human nature is good, people want to cooperate, and wars result from misunderstandings. Therefore, they believe the routes to peace revolve around communication and negotiation. Liberals want to advance the cause of freedom around the world and help liberate people from suffering. The United Nations is the prime example of Liberal thinking.

Realists believe human nature is bad, people want power, even at the expense of others, and wars are fought to gain power. Power can be gained through taking resources, such as gold and land. To the Realist, the way to avoid war is to be more powerful than your enemies, so they don't want to fight you. Realists want to ensure they remain free, regardless of what they rest of the world does. Israel today could be an example, since they exist only because their military strength is greater than their enemies'.

Liberals criticize Realists for being too focused on power and unwilling to negotiate. Realists criticize Liberals for being weak-kneed and unwilling to accept the cold realities of the world.

Now, neocons have developed out of a mix of Liberal and Realist thought. Neocons combine the Liberal desire to help the world with the military focus of the Realitsts. Bush is a perfect example of a neocon. He wants to promote freedom and democracy around the world. That is technically Liberal; it's the stated objective of the United Nations. But, rather than relying only on communication and negotiation, as the UN almost always does, Bush is willing to use war to depose dictators and push for democracy.

A neocon believes human nature is bad and that some people really want to hurt you. Liberals believe dictators like Saddam Hussein can be negotiated with. But, Realists and neocons believed Hussein was just bent on maintaining or expanding his own power and would therefore use negotiations as a tactic to by himself time. Remember, Bush accused Hussein of doing just that. Neocons also believe, however, that our morality requires us to intervene on the behalf of others. Realists don't want to intervene unless it promotes their own power agenda. Neocons, however, believe intervention is sometimes the right thing to do, even if it costs us. That is why Bush insists on staying the course in Iraq regardless of the rising costs to the US. He thinks he owes it to the Iraqi people to see them though to freedom.

Answer 4

Men: Handsome. Women: Beautiful. Children: Intelligent, well mannered and creative.

All: generous to the needy.

Answer 5

A NEOCON is something the NEOHALFWITS complain about constantly.

Answer 6

I see we get comic relief early today
Smart loyal and intelligent and yes Bush is The greatest