Neoconservative Shift: Robert Kagan Admits US Intervention Fueled Middle East Terrorism
Guardian columnist Owen Jones analyzes a significant ideological shift among neoconservatives, highlighted by Robert Kagan’s recent admission that US military involvement in the Muslim world since the 1940s created the threat of terrorism, rather than preventing it. Kagan, a key architect of neoconservative foreign policy who previously advocated for the Iraq War, now argues that Islamic militants attack the US due to its geopolitical presence rather than its values. Jones contextualizes this reversal within a broader pattern of Western policymakers, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, acknowledging past interventionist mistakes in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan. However, the article criticizes the lack of accountability for these ideologues, noting that while some express regret over strategic errors amidst declining US hegemony, others like Tony Blair and Douglas Murray remain unapologetic. The piece underscores the human cost of these policies, measured in millions of deaths, and contrasts the late realizations of war proponents with the earlier warnings of anti-war critics who were previously marginalized. This commentary reflects on the enduring consequences of US exceptionalism and military adventurism in the Middle East.
Wire timeline
Neoconservative Shift: Robert Kagan Admits US Intervention Fueled Middle East Terrorism
Guardian columnist Owen Jones analyzes a significant ideological shift among neoconservatives, highlighted by Robert Kagan’s recent admission that US military involvement in the Muslim world since the 1940s created the threat of terrorism, rather than preventing it. Kagan, a key architect of neoconservative foreign policy who previously advocated for the Iraq War, now argues that Islamic militants attack the US due to its geopolitical presence rather than its values. Jones contextualizes this reversal within a broader pattern of Western policymakers, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, acknowledging past interventionist mistakes in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan. However, the article criticizes the lack of accountability for these ideologues, noting that while some express regret over strategic errors amidst declining US hegemony, others like Tony Blair and Douglas Murray remain unapologetic. The piece underscores the human cost of these policies, measured in millions of deaths, and contrasts the late realizations of war proponents with the earlier warnings of anti-war critics who were previously marginalized. This commentary reflects on the enduring consequences of US exceptionalism and military adventurism in the Middle East.
The Guardian