Comments on: Scooter Libby and the Neocons’ Social Universe

By: Joachim Martillo

Joachim Martillo — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

The parentage of most Neocons can be traced to 1920s-30s American or European followers of Vladimir Jabotinsky.

Militant Zionism in America by Rafael Medoff is a good book to read if you want to get a sense of Neocon origins.

By: Phil Weiss

Phil Weiss — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

Interesting, Joachim. In his book, Kaddish, Wieseltier notes that his dad was a Jabotinskyite

By: LeaNder

LeaNder — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

Interesting, Phil? This is such a mad line of thought that on the net - at least considering the propagandists - it easily merges with the larger extreme right wing conspiracy lore: freemasons, jesuits, jews and somewhere secretly in the back a black pope pulling strings.

I wouldn't touch any of this stuff, if it wasn't written by someone with superior knowledge of European and especially Russian history.

By: David Brown

David Brown — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

Philip,

You are publishing the truth about Jewish Americans that many of them don't want to hear. Good for you and stay strong.

By: David

David — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

I agree with Phil that the social links are the most intriguing aspect of this (although "social" isn't really the right word).

However, there is also a revealing tidbit in Feith's letter that sheds some light on the inner mechanisms of the administration:
"When he worked for the Vice President, I was the Under Secretary of Depfense for Policy and we spent several hours together in meetings every week day, more or less, and occasionally on weekends too."

Several hours every day is a pretty tight linkage between the OSP (Feith at Defense) and WHIG (Libby at OVP).

By: Jim S.

Jim S. — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

A good post, however: the Clinton Administration the philo-semitic in American History? What about FDR? Truman? Carter? Otherwise it seems pretty accurate-and revealing of the Clinton Presidency and of it's foreign policies.

By: David

David — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

"In his book, Kaddish, Wieseltier notes that his dad was a Jabotinskyite."

Doug Feith can top that. His dad was active in Betar as a youngster in Poland.

(BTW, Feith, Wolfowitz, and Daniel Pipes all happen to be first-generation Jewish Polish immigrants.)

By: David

David — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

(That is to say, children of Jewish Polish immigrants.)

By: Richard Silverstein

Richard Silverstein — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

When it comes to Israel, Wieseltier might as well be a neocon. He's as right wing as his boss, Marty Peretz, & that's pretty right wing.

By: Richard Witty

Richard Witty — Mon, 29 Nov 1999 23:00:00 +0000

I thought that the neo-conservative movement originated from disaffected Trotskyite perspective.

Commentary

Isn't the name "neo-con" used similarly now to dismiss one's ideas without reading them, same as has been done to the left?

Why repeat a wrong and then call it acceptable political ethics?