DOCSLIB.ORG

Neoconservatism, Human Rights Rhetoric, and the Push to Democratize Iraq

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Neoconservatism, Human Rights Rhetoric, and the Push to Democratize Iraq Bard College Bard Digital Commons Senior Projects Spring 2017 Bard Undergraduate Senior Projects Spring 2017 Starting a War: Neoconservatism, Human Rights Rhetoric, and the Push to Democratize Iraq Dylan Edward Long Bard College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2017 Part of the American Politics Commons, International Relations Commons, Political Theory Commons, and the United States History Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Long, Dylan Edward, "Starting a War: Neoconservatism, Human Rights Rhetoric, and the Push to Democratize Iraq" (2017). Senior Projects Spring 2017. 348. https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2017/348 This Open Access work is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been provided to you by Bard College's Stevenson Library with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this work in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights- holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Starting a War: Neoconservatism, Human Rights Rhetoric, and the Push to Democratize Iraq Senior Project Submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College By Dylan Long Annandale-on-Hudson, New York May 2017 Acknowledgments Thank you to Peter, Tom, and Mark for guiding me through this process. Thank you Mom, thank you Dad. Thank you Emily, and thank you Ellie. You all push me to do better, and I could not have done this without you. Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….1 Human Rights and Neoconservatism……………………………………………………………...5 Neoconservative Human Rights and the Iraq War………………………………………………20 Iraq as a “Humanitarian War”…………………………………………………………………...36 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….49 1 Introduction Foreign policy has been integral for the successes of the United States of America. The United States’ “super power” status rests on the shoulders of a strong foreign policy – without linkage to the international community, the United States is an isolationist state, not a super power. The United States shows a history far from isolationism, but rather a history of foreign policy riddled with expansion. It can be said that even after Westward Expansion, the United States still looked to grow outward, and it did. Robert Kagan, a leading neoconservative and self described “liberal interventionist,” writes that United States history is essential in understanding foreign policy and interventionist politics. Far before the Cold War or the Reagan Administration, the United States sought to promote democracy around the globe. Kagan cites the Republican Party’s 1900 campaign platform, in which they congratulated themselves for America’s triumph and recent victory in the war in Spain. Kagan writes, “It was, they declared, a war fought for ‘high purpose,’ a ‘war for liberty and human rights’ that had given ‘ten millions of the human race’ a ‘new birth of freedom’ and the American people ‘a new and noble responsibility ... to confer the blessings of liberty and civilization upon all the rescued people.’”1 This new birth of freedom is the experience of democracy while the war fought for a high purpose – the liberation of Cuba from Spanish rule. In their eyes, the win was for American democracy and human rights. Kagan then moves deeper into history, going as far as the mid 19th century. He references William Henry Seward, the founder of the Republican Party, New York Governor, and future Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln. As early as 1850, Seward “declared it America's duty ‘to renovate the condition of mankind’ and lead the way ‘to the universal 1 Kagan, Robert. "Neocon Nation: Neoconservatism, C. 1776." World Affairs 170.4 (2008): 13-35. JSTOR. Web. 2 restoration of power to the governed.’”2 Seward is alluding to it being the responsibility of the United States of America to set the standard of global rights while influencing the international community. His use of “restoration of the power to the governed” is another way of stating that the United States must lead the international community in promoting democracy around the world. It is clear, however, that this phenomenon was not limited to the 19th and 20th centuries as Kagan references the likes of Alexander Hamilton in the 18th century. Kagan writes that “Hamilton, even in the 1790s, looked forward to the day when America would be powerful enough to assist the ‘gloomy regions of despotism’ to rise up against the ‘tyrants’ that oppressed them.”3 Only twenty years after the inception of the United States of America as a country, its founders were imagining a future in which the United States would serve as a beacon of democracy for the rest of the world. Hamilton mentions “gloomy regions of despotism” and “tyrants” because they now represent the opposite of democracy, the very pillar of what their new country was founded on. It would only make sense that a country that was founded on democratic principles would view these principles as central to the rights of the people who inhabited it. By escaping tyranny and being built as a democracy, the United States associated democracy with rights and monarchy as oppression. The new state would be free and focused on the promotion of liberty, a vast difference from pledging allegiance to a single ruler. In coming from tyranny and moving towards democracy, the United States understood that democracy was the truest, freest form of government that bestowed the most rights upon its citizens. 2 Kagan, Robert. "Neocon Nation: Neoconservatism, C. 1776." 3 Kagan, Robert. "Neocon Nation: Neoconservatism, C. 1776." 3 Kagan argues that the United States then spent, up until the Iraq War, promoting democracy abroad. As early as World War I, the United States was fighting wars using the rhetoric of democracy. Kagan mentions Woodrow Wilson’s message to Congress in 1917: "The right is more precious than peace," he proclaimed, "and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts," for "democracy" and against "selfish and autocratic power."4 The day had finally come when America was "privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness."5 He then remarks that this is language that would make the speechwriters for President George W. Bush blush. The Bush Administration fought the Iraq War in the name of democracy. The war was meant to help the people of Iraq by removing an abhorrent dictator from power while simultaneously giving the people agency by establishing a democracy. It was fought for human rights. But above all else, it was a neoconservative war. That is not to say the war was fought without good intentions – neoconservatives believed in the promotion of democracy because of its ability to stabilize the region, its benefits for the Iraqi people, but also its benefits for the United States of America. Neoconservatism has played an integral role in shaping American foreign policy since the start of the Reagan Administration, culminating with the Iraq War. This project examines neoconservatives and their relationship with human rights, particularly in regards to the Iraq War. By co-opting human rights language and creating a human rights policy that focused on the promotion of democracy, neoconservatives in the Bush Administration were ultimately able to start the war in Iraq. Their policy and focus were not new, as was their determination, but their rhetoric and capability was. With a love for democracy, a love for the United States Military, and 4 Kagan, Robert. "Neocon Nation: Neoconservatism, C. 1776." 5 Kagan, Robert. "Neocon Nation: Neoconservatism, C. 1776." 4 countless influence, neoconservatives started a war that would come to be considered as this generation's Vietnam. 5 1. Human Rights and Neoconservatism American Exceptionalism as Neoconservatism Neoconservatism is American exceptionalism, as outlined by Robert Kagan. It rests on the shoulders of foreign policy intertwined with American ideals, interests, and aspiration. As he writes, “The expansive, moralistic, militaristic tradition in American foreign policy is the hearty offspring of this marriage between Americans' driving ambitions and their overpowering sense of righteousness.”6 This overpowering sense of righteousness is a euphemism for American exceptionalism – the idea that the United States and its interests are more important than any other nation or governing body on the planet. By combining this righteousness with a driving ambition and a desire to build the nation’s military, Kagan argues that neoconservatism takes shape. It is Michael McDonald who breaks down this relationship even further in his chapter titled, “What Were Neoconservatives Thinking?” He first writes that “America is exceptional for neoconservatives because the world needs American, and only American, values.”7 This plays closely with rhetoric surrounding American exceptionalism. At its heart, this exceptionalism is isolationist. There is an emphasis on American values, and only American values, as being a remedy for international issues. The next step in this order of logic focuses on how these values can be extended internationally, which is through a show of power. McDonald continues, writing, 6 Kagan, Robert. "Neocon Nation: Neoconservatism, C. 1776." World Affairs 170.4 (2008): 13-35. JSTOR. Web. 7 MacDonald, Michael. Overreach: Delusions of Regime Change in Iraq. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2014. Print. 6 “American interests are embedded in its principles (and its principles are embedded in its power), and, as the second axiom provides, all countries benefit when America extends its principles (or its power).”8 Through this logic, the American exceptionalism that neoconservatives exude is beneficial for other nations. This affinity for American values, which directly benefit the United States, mixed with an extension of power, benefit the world.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Leftist Case for War in Iraq •fi William Shawcross, Allies
    Fordham International Law Journal Volume 27, Issue 6 2003 Article 6 Vengeance And Empire: The Leftist Case for War in Iraq – William Shawcross, Allies: The U.S., Britain, Europe, and the War in Iraq Hal Blanchard∗ ∗ Copyright c 2003 by the authors. Fordham International Law Journal is produced by The Berke- ley Electronic Press (bepress). http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ilj Vengeance And Empire: The Leftist Case for War in Iraq – William Shawcross, Allies: The U.S., Britain, Europe, and the War in Iraq Hal Blanchard Abstract Shawcross is superbly equipped to assess the impact of rogue States and terrorist organizations on global security. He is also well placed to comment on the risks of preemptive invasion for existing alliances and the future prospects for the international rule of law. An analysis of the ways in which the international community has “confronted evil,” Shawcross’ brief polemic argues that U.S. President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were right to go to war without UN clearance, and that the hypocrisy of Jacques Chirac was largely responsible for the collapse of international consensus over the war. His curious identification with Bush and his neoconservative allies as the most qualified to implement this humanitarian agenda, however, fails to recognize essential differences between the leftist case for war and the hard-line justification for regime change in Iraq. BOOK REVIEW VENGEANCE AND EMPIRE: THE LEFTIST CASE FOR WAR IN IRAQ WILLIAM SHAWCROSS, ALLIES: THE U.S., BRITAIN, EUROPE, AND THE WAR IN IRAQ* Hal Blanchard** INTRODUCTION In early 2002, as the war in Afghanistan came to an end and a new interim government took power in Kabul,1 Vice President Richard Cheney was discussing with President George W.
    [Show full text]
  • The 2002 National Security Strategy: the Foundation Of
    Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Graduate Program in International Studies Dissertations Summer 2013 The 2002 aN tional Security Strategy: The Foundation of a Doctrine of Preemption, Prevention, or Anticipatory Action Troy Lorenzo Ewing Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/gpis_etds Part of the American Politics Commons, Defense and Security Studies Commons, International Law Commons, Terrorism Studies Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Ewing, Troy L.. "The 2002 aN tional Security Strategy: The oundF ation of a Doctrine of Preemption, Prevention, or Anticipatory Action" (2013). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), dissertation, International Studies, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/ 8f8q-9g35 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/gpis_etds/46 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Program in International Studies at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE 2002 NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY: THE FOUNDATION OF A DOCTRINE OF PREEMPTION, PREVENTION, OR ANTICIPATORY ACTION by Troy Lorenzo Ewing B.A. May 1992, Rutgers University M.B.A. May 2001, Webster University M.S.S.I. May 2007, National Intelligence University A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY INTERNATIONAL STUDIES OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY August 2013 ABSTRACT THE 2002 NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY: THE FOUNDATION OF A DOCTRINE OF PREEMPTION, PREVENTION, OR ANTICIPATORY ACTION Troy Lorenzo Ewing Old Dominion University, 2013 Director: Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • A WAY FORWARD with IRAN? Options for Crafting a U.S. Strategy
    A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? Options for Crafting a U.S. Strategy THE SOUFAN CENTER FEBRUARY 2021 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. STRATEGY A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? Options for Crafting a U.S. Strategy THE SOUFAN CENTER FEBRUARY 2021 Cover photo: Associated Press Photo/Photographer: Mohammad Berno 2 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. STRATEGY CONTENTS List of Abbreviations 4 List of Figures 5 Key Findings 6 How Did We Reach This Point? 7 Roots of the U.S.-Iran Relationship 9 The Results of the Maximum Pressure Policy 13 Any Change in Iranian Behavior? 21 Biden Administration Policy and Implementation Options 31 Conclusion 48 Contributors 49 About The Soufan Center 51 3 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. STRATEGY LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BPD Barrels Per Day FTO Foreign Terrorist Organization GCC Gulf Cooperation Council IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missile IMF International Monetary Fund IMSC International Maritime Security Construct INARA Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act INSTEX Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges IRGC Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC-QF Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - Qods Force JCPOA Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action MBD Million Barrels Per Day PMF Popular Mobilization Forces SRE Significant Reduction Exception 4 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S. STRATEGY LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Iran Annual GDP Growth and Change in Crude Oil Exports 18 Figure 2: Economic Effects of Maximum Pressure 19 Figure 3: Armed Factions Supported by Iran 25 Figure 4: Comparison of Iran Nuclear Program with JCPOA Limitations 28 5 A WAY FORWARD WITH IRAN? OPTIONS FOR CRAFTING A U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The National Security Council and the Iran-Contra Affair
    THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL AND THE IRAN- CONTRA AFFAIR Congressman Ed Jenkins* and Robert H. Brink** I. INTRODUCTION Early in November of 1986, newspapers in the United States carried the first reports that the United States government, in an effort to gain release of United States citizens held hostage by terrorists in Lebanon, had engaged in a covert policy of supplying arms to elements within Iran.' Later in that month, following a preliminary inquiry into the matter, it was revealed that some of the funds generated from those arms sales had been diverted to support the "Contra" 2 forces fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The events giving rise to these disclosures became known collectively as the "Iran-Contra Affair." Both elements of the affair raised serious questions regarding the formulation and conduct of our nation's foreign policy. In regard to the Iranian phase of the affair, the Regan administration's rhetoric had placed the administration firmly in op- position to any dealings with nations supporting terrorism, and with Iran in particular.' In addition, the United States had made significant * Member, United States House of Representatives, Ninth District of Georgia. LL.B., University of Georgia Law School, 1959. In 1987, Congressman Jenkins served as a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran. ** Professional Staff Member, Committee on Government Operations, United States House of Representatives. J.D., Marshall-Wythe School of Law, College of William and Mary, 1978. In 1987, Mr. Brink served as a member of the associate staff of the House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran.
    [Show full text]
  • Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 12/07/2020 9:54:33 AM
    Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 12/07/2020 9:54:33 AM Friday 12/04/20 This material is distributed by Ghebi LLC on behalf of Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency, and additional information is on file with the Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia. ‘Stand Our Ground’: US Lawmakers Call to Resist Chinese Communist Party’s ‘Quest to Exert Dominance’ by Morgan Artvukhina Top US intelligence officials have sounded the alarm in recent days about the supreme danger posed by China and the Communist Party of China to the United States. While their rhetoric casts the US as a victim of China’s unfair rise, in reality the US’ climb to world leadership was helped by its own sabotage of Chinese development. In a joint statement on Friday. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence acting Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) said they agree with US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe “that China poses the greatest national security threat to the United States. Our intelligence is clear: the Chinese Communist Party will stop at nothing to exert its global dominance.” The day prior, Ratcliffe penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in which he argued that “the People’s Republic of China poses the greatest threat to America today, and the greatest threat to democracy and freedom world-wide since World War II.” Ratcliffe claimed “Beijing intends to dominate the US and the rest of the planet economically, militarily and technologically” through a vast espionage plan to steal intellectual property from the US, replicate the technology, then edge those same firms out of the market - a strategy he called “rob, replicate and replace.” Ratcliffe’s article isn’t limited to attacking the Communist Party of China, however: he also warns of the dangers “Chinese nationals” pose to intellectual property and to “research and development secrets,” noting the FBI is “frequently arresting” them.
    [Show full text]
  • The Regime Change Consensus: Iraq in American Politics, 1990-2003
    THE REGIME CHANGE CONSENSUS: IRAQ IN AMERICAN POLITICS, 1990-2003 Joseph Stieb A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Sciences. Chapel Hill 2019 Approved by: Wayne Lee Michael Morgan Benjamin Waterhouse Daniel Bolger Hal Brands ©2019 Joseph David Stieb ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Joseph David Stieb: The Regime Change Consensus: Iraq in American Politics, 1990-2003 (Under the direction of Wayne Lee) This study examines the containment policy that the United States and its allies imposed on Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War and argues for a new understanding of why the United States invaded Iraq in 2003. At the core of this story is a political puzzle: Why did a largely successful policy that mostly stripped Iraq of its unconventional weapons lose support in American politics to the point that the policy itself became less effective? I argue that, within intellectual and policymaking circles, a claim steadily emerged that the only solution to the Iraqi threat was regime change and democratization. While this “regime change consensus” was not part of the original containment policy, a cohort of intellectuals and policymakers assembled political support for the idea that Saddam’s personality and the totalitarian nature of the Baathist regime made Iraq uniquely immune to “management” strategies like containment. The entrenchment of this consensus before 9/11 helps explain why so many politicians, policymakers, and intellectuals rejected containment after 9/11 and embraced regime change and invasion.
    [Show full text]
  • U.S.-Japan Approaches to Democracy Promotion
    U.S. JAPAN APPROACHES TO DEMOCRACY PROMOTION U.S. JAPAN Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA 1819 L St NW #300 Washington, DC 20036 [email protected] U.S.-JAPAN APPROACHES TO DEMOCRACY SASAKAWA USA SASAKAWA PROMOTION Edited by Michael R. Auslin and Daniel E. Bob ISBN 9780996656764 51000 > 9 780996 656764 U.S.-JAPAN APPROACHES TO DEMOCRACY PROMOTION Edited by Michael R. Auslin Daniel E. Bob Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA is an independent, American non-profit and non- partisan institution devoted to research, analysis and better understanding of the U.S.-Japan relationship. Sasakawa USA accomplishes its mission through programs that benefit both nations and the broader Asia Pacific region. Our research programs focus on security, diplomacy, economics, trade and technology, and our education programs facilitate people-to-people exchange and discussion among American and Japanese policymakers, influential citizens and the broader public in both countries. ISBN: 978-0-9966567-6-4 Printed in the United States of America. © 2017 by Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA LCCN Number applied for Sasakawa USA does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views expressed herein are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sasakawa USA, its staff or its board. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by and means without permission in writing from Sasakawa USA. Please direct inquiries to: Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA Research Department 1819 L Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20036 P: +1 202-296-6694 This publication can be downloaded at no cost at http://spfusa.org/ Cover photo: © EPA/Barbara Walton Contents Preface .............................................................................................................................v Dennis Blair and Yasushi Akashi INTRODUCTION U.S.-Japan Approaches to Democracy Promotion ............................................
    [Show full text]
  • Bremer's Gordian Knot: Transitional Justice and the US Occupation of Iraq Eric Stover Berkeley Law
    Berkeley Law Berkeley Law Scholarship Repository Faculty Scholarship 1-1-2005 Bremer's Gordian Knot: Transitional Justice and the US Occupation of Iraq Eric Stover Berkeley Law Hanny Megally Hania Mufti Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/facpubs Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Bremer's Gordian Knot: Transitional Justice and the US Occupation of Iraq, 27 Hum. Rts. Q. 830 (2005) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Berkeley Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Berkeley Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HUMAN RIGHTS QUARTERLY Bremer's "Gordian Knot": Transitional Justice and the US Occupation of Iraq Eric Stover,* Hanny Megally, ** & Hania Mufti*** ABSTRACT Shortly after the US invasion and occupation of Iraq, L. Paul Bremer III, in his capacity as the chief administrator of the Coalition Provisional Author- ity (CPA), introduced several transitional justice mechanisms that set the *Eric Stover is Director of the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Health. In 1991, Stover led a team of forensic scientists to northern Iraq to investigate war crimes committed by Iraqi troops during the Anfal campaign against the Kurds in the late 1980s. In March and April 2003, he returned to northern Iraq where he and Hania Mufti monitored the compliance with the 1949 Geneva Conventions by all sides to the conflict. He returned to Iraq in February 2004 to assist Mufti in investigating the status of documentary and physical evidence to be used in trials against Saddam Hussein and other members of the Ba'athist Party.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    NOTES Introduction 1. Robert Kagan to George Packer. Cited in Packer’s The Assassin’s Gate: America In Iraq (Faber and Faber, London, 2006): 38. 2. Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke, America Alone: The Neoconservatives and the Global Order (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004): 9. 3. Critiques of the war on terror and its origins include Gary Dorrien, Imperial Designs: Neoconservatism and the New Pax Americana (Routledge, New York and London, 2004); Francis Fukuyama, After the Neocons: America At the Crossroads (Profile Books, London, 2006); Ira Chernus, Monsters to Destroy: The Neoconservative War on Terror and Sin (Paradigm Publishers, Boulder, CO and London, 2006); and Jacob Heilbrunn, They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons (Doubleday, New York, 2008). 4. A report of the PNAC, Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century, September 2000: 76. URL: http:// www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf (15 January 2009). 5. On the first generation on Cold War neoconservatives, which has been covered far more extensively than the second, see Gary Dorrien, The Neoconservative Mind: Politics, Culture and the War of Ideology (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1993); Peter Steinfels, The Neoconservatives: The Men Who Are Changing America’s Politics (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1979); Murray Friedman, The Neoconservative Revolution: Jewish Intellectuals and the Shaping of Public Policy (Cambridge University Press, New York, 2005); Murray Friedman ed. Commentary in American Life (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 2005); Mark Gerson, The Neoconservative Vision: From the Cold War to the Culture Wars (Madison Books, Lanham MD; New York; Oxford, 1997); and Maria Ryan, “Neoconservative Intellectuals and the Limitations of Governing: The Reagan Administration and the Demise of the Cold War,” Comparative American Studies, Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Is God Great?
    IS GOD GREAT? CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS AND THE NEW ATHEISM DEBATE Master’s Thesis in North American Studies Leiden University By Tayra Algera S1272667 March 14, 2018 Supervisor: Dr. E.F. van de Bilt Second reader: Ms. N.A. Bloemendal MA 1 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3 Chapter 1 – The New Atheism Debate and the Four Horsemen .............................................. 17 Chapter 2 – Christopher Hitchens ............................................................................................ 27 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 433 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 455 2 3 Introduction “God did not make us, we made God” Christopher Hitchens (2007) "What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence" Christopher Hitchens (2003) “Religion is violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism and tribalism and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children." Christopher Hitchens (2007) These bold statements describe the late Christopher Hitchens’s views on religion in fewer than 50 words. He was a man of many words, most aimed at denouncing the role of religion in current-day societies. Religion is a concept that is hard
    [Show full text]
  • 2003 Iraq War: Intelligence Or Political Failure?
    2003 IRAQ WAR: INTELLIGENCE OR POLITICAL FAILURE? A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of The School of Continuing Studies and of The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Liberal Studies By Dione Brunson, B.A. Georgetown University Washington, D.C. April, 2011 DISCLAIMER THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS ACADEMIC RESEARCH PAPER ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICIES OR POSITIONS OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, OR THE U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY. ALL INFORMATION AND SOURCES FOR THIS PAPER WERE DRAWN FROM OPEN SOURCE MATERIALS. ii 2003 IRAQ WAR: INTELLIGENCE OR POLITICAL FAILURE? Dione Brunson, B.A. MALS Mentor: Ralph Nurnberger, Ph.D. ABSTRACT The bold U.S. decision to invade Iraq in 2003 was anchored in intelligence justifications that would later challenge U.S. credibility. Policymakers exhibited unusual bureaucratic and public dependencies on intelligence analysis, so much so that efforts were made to create supporting information. To better understand the amplification of intelligence, the use of data to justify invading Iraq will be explored alongside events leading up to the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. This paper will examine the use of intelligence to invade Iraq as well as broader implications for politicization. It will not examine the justness or ethics of going to war with Iraq but, conclude with the implications of abusing intelligence. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you God for continued wisdom. Thank you Dr. Nurnberger for your patience. iv DEDICATION This work is dedicated to Mom and Dad for their continued support.
    [Show full text]
  • Interpreting the Jackson Legacy Peter Beinart
    Henry M. Jackson Foundation 1501 Fourth Avenue, Suite 1580 Seattle, Washington 98101-3225 Telephone: 206.682.8565 Fax: 206.682.8961 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.hmjackson.org Henry M. Jackson Foundation TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY LECTURE nterpreting the JacksonI Legacy in a Post-9/11 Landscape By Peter Beinart About the Foundation Since its establishment in 1983, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation has been dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations and educational institutions in the United States and Russia. The Foundation’s grants provide essential support and seed funding for new initiatives that offer promising models for replication and address critical issues in four areas in which the late Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson played a key leadership role during his forty-three- year tenure in the United States Congress: Inter- national Affairs Education, Environment and Nat- ural Resources Management, Public Service, and Human Rights. About this Publication On the occasion of its twenty-fifth anniversary, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation hosted a dinner and conversation at the National Press Club in Wash- ington, D.C.. Journalist Peter Beinart was invited to share his thoughts on the Jackson legacy and the Foundation’s commemorative publication, The Nature of Leadership, Lessons from an Exemplary Statesman. Foundation Executive Director Lara Iglitzin served as moderator for the discussion that followed his remarks. nterpreting the JacksonI Legacy in a Post-9/11 Landscape WASHINGTON, D.C. • SEPTEMBER 17, 2008 y y Connoll r y Har Photo b PETER BEINART Peter Beinart is a senior fellow at The Council on Foreign Relations. He is also editor-at-large of The New Republic, a Time contributor, and a monthly columnist for The Washington Post.
    [Show full text]