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Project for a New American Century

Added: November 24, 2006

"Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor."

Wow. How can you not love that?

The above quote is on p.51 of a publication entitled Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategies, Forces, and Resources For A New Century. It was published in the year 2000 by the "Project for a New American Century", a prominent Washington DC neo-conservative think tank with many former members holding powerful positions in the Bush administration including Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Armitage and John Bolton.

If you are confused and/or upset by our response to 9/11 - read this document, it will explain everything. Seriously.

Iraq was on the agenda long before 9/11, as was Iran, Syria, North Korea, Pre-emptive warfare, ditching the Geneva Conventions and the plan for American military domination of the world. This document is a snapshot of neo-conservative foreign policy theory as it stood pre-election 2000 and pre-9/11 and it is not pretty.

Reading it over again 5 years after 9/11 is a spooky experience. These guys openly expoused a diabolical plan for world domination, and somehow were put in charge of the country. Then, along came 9/11 and triggered a 2 year suspension of all congressional, judicial and public checks on executive power. It was a perfect storm people, a perfect storm.

Their whole argument is based on a few key points:

1. Our military strength and our prosperity are inseparably intertwined.

2. Our competitors are weak, and if we play our cards right, we can consolodate a position of global dominion that will last a very long time.

3. The world is full of people who want to take our stuff, and we must bring down the hammer mercilessly on anybody who even looks like they might someday challenge us.

Hmmmm...

It is mesmerizing, truly. Negotiation, compromise, diplomacy and shared interest are just so boring. We are really just steppe raiders with fancy shoes, waiting for the moment when we can drop all the pussy footing and kick some motherfucking ass - so let's stop pretending and TAKE OUR SHOT AT THE GLORY!....CHARGE!"

Ack.

If their was one lesson from the 20th century, it is that this kind of thinking will quickly lead to the certain destruction of a nation with a few minor variations:

Variation One: The entire world drops their squabbling and unites against you. Offensive operations grind to a halt in a tactical stalemate that costs millions of lives and completely bankrupts both sides beyond any hope of recovery. Your economy is permanently destroyed, and you must surrender unconditionally.

Variation Two: The entire world drops their squabbling and unites against you. Within a few years every man between 12 and 60 is dead, and your cities are being systematically leveled by nightly firebombing raids. You entire country is obliterated and you must surrender unconditionally.

Variation Three: The entire world drops their squabbling and unites against you. Within a few years every man between 12 and 60 is dead, and your cities are being systematically leveled by nightly firebombing raids. You hesitate for a few key days in surrendering, and two huge nuclear weapons are detonated over two of your most densely populated cities. The explosions are so huge that they are visible from the outer planets of the solar system. Charred pieces of your citizens and little pieces of house drop out of the sky hundreds of miles away for days afterwards. Your entire country is obliterated and you must surrender unconditionally.

That's about it. If you ignore everything else about the 20th century, its hard to ignore the part about aggressive nations getting utterly pulverized again and again and again.

PNAC repackaged all the old arguments, with the mythical idea that somehow "technology" was the wild card that would make it all work out differently this time.

In 2003, it sounded almost plausible. In 2007, with how things have turned out in Iraq, its hard to comprehend how anyone could ever believe such nonsense.

What were we thinking?

Things are pretty quiet at PNAC now. They are down to one staffer (from 6 during the heyday) and the last article on Iraq was posted in 2005 (bizarrely entitled "Setting the Record Straight").

The worm has turned, the TIME Magazine with Baghdad getting blown up on the cover lies tattered in the corner, and the sneaking suspicion that they might be fucked, has turned into the overwhelming, absolute iron-clad certainty that they indeed are fucked.

Their grand plan for centuries of glorious military domination of the world by America has ground to a halt with one third rate dictator deposed and zero countries conquered.

Adios guys, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.


Links
Project for a New American Century
Rebuilding America's Defenses
Background of PNAC


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