Do you know who was the father of the Neoconservatives? Do you know what a "Noble Lie" is?

Question

Leo Strauss! Look it up

In 2004 Adam Curtis produced a three-part documentary for the BBC on the threat from organised terrorism called the Power of Nightmares. This television documentary claimed that Strauss' teachings, among others, influenced neo-conservative and thus, United States foreign policy, especially following the September 11, 2001 attacks. Two students of Strauss, Wolfowitz and William Kristol, are cited, and Kristol discusses Strauss's influence in the film. Since they were students of Strauss, the documentary claims that their later political views and actions are a result of Strauss' philosophy and teaching. The central theme of the documentary is that the neoconservatives created myths to make the Soviet Union and terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة‎) appear to be better organized and coordinated, as well as more threatening than they actually were, and that such "nightmares" enabled the neoconservatives to gain disproportionate power in the Reagan and George W. Bush administrations.

Answer 1

That's absolutely true. It has been the hallmark of Republicans/Conservatives to always require an enemy to be fought with all our power, and to describe this enemy as a great threat that can't be ignored. Whether it's drugs, communism, attacks on the family or, today, terrorism, the rhetoric remains more or less the same.

To quote Hank Hill: Now that's not fair, Bobby; back then, we didn't know that the Russians were incompetent.

Answer 2

Considered as a group, the neocons have a fairly concrete identity -- they are intensely hawkish Democrats (or the offspring of intensely hawkish Democrats) who bolted the party in the late '60s/early '70s after it turned against the Vietnam War. They tend to be Jewish, urban and intellectual. Many of them worked for Scoop Jackson (the hawkish Democratic Senator from Washington State.) Some of them started out on the far left fringe of American politics (Trotskyists, etc.) then moved right and kept going. Some are admirers of the late University of Chicago professor and philospher Leo Strauss.

These are all generalizations, but there are enough people who fit enough of the points to make the profile valid.

Ideologically, though, neocon is a much more nebulous term. It's not like there's some kind of neocon Politburo that lays down a rigid party line on any and all points -- although the Project for a New American Century probably comes closest to filling that function.

It's easy enough to point to some common themes that are generally identified with the neocons: contempt for international organizations and the concept of multilateralism; impatience with traditional balance-of-power diplomacy; a cultish devotion to the use of military power; an outspoken belief in the superiority of Western culture and political institutions; a messianic vision of America's mission to "civilize" the world, which at times (Max Boot) makes them sound like caricatures of old-fashioned European imperialists. And of course: an intense identification with the state of Israel, and a willingness, even eagerness, to use American power to protect and further Israeli security interests.

But there are nuances on all these points. Some neocons support the maximum Likud position -- one state (Jewish) between the Jordan and the sea. Some don't. Some are more willing to use multilateral institutions to pursue American interests. Some aren't. Some are more cynical about the "spreading democracy" meme than others.

Personally, I would not describe Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld as neocons. Certainly not on the first count (personal biography). And not on the second (ideological affinity), either. At the end of the day, Cheney and Rumsfeld are politicians and bureaucrats. They are not intellectuals -- not by a long shot. They are consumers of ideology, not producers.

To me, the neocons and the realists are rival schools of foreign policy intellectuals, competing for the patronage of political leaders such as Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Delay, etc. With a few exceptions, they are servants of power -- not holders of power.

Since most American politicians (like most American voters) know very little about the rest of the world, they usually don't have detailed positions on the kinds of foreign policy issues the neocons and the realists spend their professional lives debating. Instead, politicians have belief systems, typically reflecting some fairly basic value judgments: America must always be the strongest nation on earth, or America should try to cooperate with its allies, or whatever.

Answer 3

A noble lie is a derivative of the Big Lie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Lie
This is a common fascist technique used successfully for a very long time. Tell a whopper to influence the nation as nobody will believe you are capable of such a thing. The most notable example was in Nazi Germany, click on the link, and the same people that brought us the Third Reich, are the same people pulling the strings today. Some of the names have changed, but it is the same story. Oddly, one name that is common to both is Bush. Preston Bush funded the rise of Hitler, and now we have the George Bushes today.

Answer 4

Yes, I have heard and read much about it, I really appreciate dstr answer it is far more in depth and thoughtful than most. On a sad point these people with their bizarre thoughts and actiond our dragging our nation to ruin. What can we do?? The Democrats are already saying they arenot going to investigate anything leading up to the war, what to do?

Answer 5

Winston Churchill was evil and an imperialist

I'm not concerned about... Right and Left
as I am about Right and Wrong

Kindness and mercy should be the USA foreign policy.

Take and Grag... steal and pillage... Corporate Fascism rules the USA.

Answer 6

A " Noble Lie" is what you tell your wife when she asks if you like her dress and you say "yes", even though it looks like great aunt marge's hideous couch. LOL

Answer 7

Well, research shows different.


According to Irving Kristol, the founder and "god-father" of Neoconservatism, there are three basic pillars of Neoconservatism:

1. Economics: Cutting tax rates in order to stimulate steady, wide-spread economic growth and acceptance of the necessity of the risks inherent in that growth, such as budget deficits, as well as the potential benefits, such as budget surpluses.
2. Domestic Affairs: Preferring strong government but not intrusive government, slight acceptance of the welfare state, adherence to social conservatism, and disapproval of counterculture
3. Foreign Policy: Patriotism is a necessity, world government is a terrible idea, the ability to distinguish friend from foe, protecting national interest both at home and abroad, and the necessity of a strong military.

Answer 8

noble lie = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3dwtf-qd3o&feature=PlayList&p=8080BABFAE3DB14B&index=32

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bin_laden

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_terror

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Eye.jpg