The Neocons vs. The Realists - The Shattered Kristol Ball
Ed. note. Obviously I don't buy neocon foreign policy, nor to I buy Walt's "realism." But Walt is generally quite right about how the Israel Lobby has Zionised US FP.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008 - By: Walt, Professor Stephen M.
A must-read debate about US foreign-policy future. Does realism offer the best solutions to today�s threats? Or will neoconservatism be responsible for US policy triumphs? The choice is clear after eight years of failed Bush policies, says Walt, but Muravchik thinks the House of Kristol may well be vindicated.
The Shattered Kristol Ball
Stephen Walt
TO WHOM should the next president turn for advice on foreign policy: realists or neoconservatives?
Given the disastrous results that neoconservative policies have produced since 2001, the answer seems obvious. Yet despite their repeated failures, prominent neoconservatives are now advising GOP candidate John McCain, and they remain a ubiquitous presence on op-ed pages and TV talk shows and in journals of opinion (along with their close cousins, the liberal interventionists). By contrast, realists have become an endangered species inside the Beltway and a muted voice in contemporary policy debates.
This situation would make sense if neoconservatives had proven to be reliable guides to foreign policy and if realists had been consistently wrong. But the truth is the opposite: neoconservatism has been a road map to disaster while realism�s policy insights remain impressive. If the next president wants to avoid the blunders of the past eight years, he must understand why neoconservatism failed, steer clear of its dubious counsel and rediscover the virtues of realism. To see why, one need only examine the core principles and track record of each perspective.
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Wednesday, September 03, 2008 - By: Walt, Professor Stephen M.
A must-read debate about US foreign-policy future. Does realism offer the best solutions to today�s threats? Or will neoconservatism be responsible for US policy triumphs? The choice is clear after eight years of failed Bush policies, says Walt, but Muravchik thinks the House of Kristol may well be vindicated.
The Shattered Kristol Ball
Stephen Walt
TO WHOM should the next president turn for advice on foreign policy: realists or neoconservatives?
Given the disastrous results that neoconservative policies have produced since 2001, the answer seems obvious. Yet despite their repeated failures, prominent neoconservatives are now advising GOP candidate John McCain, and they remain a ubiquitous presence on op-ed pages and TV talk shows and in journals of opinion (along with their close cousins, the liberal interventionists). By contrast, realists have become an endangered species inside the Beltway and a muted voice in contemporary policy debates.
This situation would make sense if neoconservatives had proven to be reliable guides to foreign policy and if realists had been consistently wrong. But the truth is the opposite: neoconservatism has been a road map to disaster while realism�s policy insights remain impressive. If the next president wants to avoid the blunders of the past eight years, he must understand why neoconservatism failed, steer clear of its dubious counsel and rediscover the virtues of realism. To see why, one need only examine the core principles and track record of each perspective.
--MORE--