Anyone with a low to moderate intelligence level (which does seem to be lacking in America at the moment) knew it was all bullshit before it even started.
The perceptive could smell the shit blowing in the wind immediately following 9-11.
100%
It's like needing media published evidence to tell me the sky is blue 3 years after I already looked out the window.
This website is for the think tank behind much of current US policy and there are documents from pre-9/11 which clearly articulate an intention to invade Iraq.
When we first hear about something it is news to us and I think this thread is important. I think if people are learning something through reading this thread then bravo--it is important to help citizens know the facts.
November 24, 2004 THE STRAUSSIAN IDEOLOGY OF WASHINGTON'S NEO-CONSERVATIVES
We live in a world increasingly shaped by Leo Strauss, a controversial philosopher who died in 1973. Although generally unknown to the wider population, Strauss has been one of the two or three most important intellectual influences on the conservative worldview now ascendant in George W. Bush's Washington. Eager to get the lowdown on White House thinking, editors at the New York Times, the Boston Globe and Le Monde have had journalists pore over Strauss's work and trace his disciples' affiliations. The New Yorker's Seymour Hersh has even found a contingent of Straussians doing intelligence work for the Pentagon. Yet while the extent of Strauss's influence is wide, his writings are frequently obscure, and his legacy is hotly disputed by admirers and critics alike. Certainly, Strauss was no ordinary Republican idea-maker: Steeped in ancient philosophy, he had dark forebodings about democracy, religion, technology, and nearly everything else that can claim the allegiance of the contemporary conservative (or liberal, for that matter).
Strauss is a popular figure among the neoconservatives. Adherents of his ideas include prominent figures both within and outside the administration. They include 'Weekly Standard' editor William Kristol; his father and indeed the godfather of the neoconservative movement, Irving Kristol; Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, Stephen Cambone, a number of senior fellows at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) (home to former Defense Policy Board chairman Richard Perle and Lynne Cheney), and Gary Schmitt, the director of the influential Project for the New American Century (PNAC), which is chaired by Kristol the Younger. The Bush administration's Straussians also include Pentagon officials Paul Wolfowitz and Abram Shulsky, who studied (and doctored) under Strauss at the University of Chicago, and the bioethics adviser Leon Kass, a colleague at Chicago.
Strauss' philosophy is hardly incidental to the strategy and mindset adopted by these men ??? as is obvious in Shulsky's 1999 essay titled "Leo Strauss and the World of Intelligence (By Which We Do Not Mean Nous)" (in Greek philosophy the term "nous" denotes the highest form of rationality). As Hersh notes in his article, Shulsky and his co-author Schmitt "criticize America's intelligence community for its failure to appreciate the duplicitous nature of the regimes it deals with, its susceptibility to social-science notions of proof, and its inability to cope with deliberate concealment." They argued that Strauss's idea of hidden meaning, "alerts one to the possibility that political life may be closely linked to deception. Indeed, it suggests that deception is the norm in political life, and the hope, to say nothing of the expectation, of establishing a politics that can dispense with it is the exception."
What would you do if you wanted to topple Saddam Hussein, but your intelligence agencies couldn't find the evidence to justify a war?
A follower of Leo Strauss may just hire the "right" kind of men to get the job done ??? people with the intellect, acuity, and, if necessary, the political commitment, polemical skills, and, above all, the imagination to find the evidence that career intelligence officers could not detect.
The "right" man for Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, suggests Seymour Hersh in his New Yorker article entitled 'Selective Intelligence,' was Abram Shulsky, director of the Office of Special Plans (OSP) ??? an agency created specifically to find the evidence of WMDs and/or links with Al Qaeda, piece it together, and clinch the case for the invasion of Iraq.
First Principle: Deception It's hardly surprising Strauss is so popular in an administration obsessed with secrecy, especially when it comes to matters of foreign policy. Not only did Strauss have few qualms about using deception in politics, he saw it as a necessity. While professing deep respect for American democracy, Strauss believed that societies should be hierarchical ??? divided between an elite who should lead, and the masses who should follow. But unlike fellow elitists like Plato, he was less concerned with the moral character of these leaders. According to Shadia Drury, who teaches politics at the University of Calgary, Strauss believed that "those who are fit to rule are those who realize there is no morality and that there is only one natural right ??? the right of the superior to rule over the inferior."
This dichotomy requires "perpetual deception" between the rulers and the ruled, according to Drury. Robert Locke, another Strauss analyst says,"The people are told what they need to know and no more." While the elite few are capable of absorbing the absence of any moral truth, Strauss thought, the masses could not cope. If exposed to the absence of absolute truth, they would quickly fall into nihilism or anarchy, according to Drury, author of 'Leo Strauss and the American Right' (St. Martin's 1999).
Second Principle: Power of Religion According to Drury, Strauss had a "huge contempt" for secular democracy. Nazism, he believed, was a nihilistic reaction to the irreligious and liberal nature of the Weimar Republic. Among other neoconservatives, Irving Kristol has long argued for a much greater role for religion in the public sphere, even suggesting that the Founding Fathers of the American Republic made a major mistake by insisting on the separation of church and state. And why? Because Strauss viewed religion as absolutely essential in order to impose moral law on the masses who otherwise would be out of control.
At the same time, he stressed that religion was for the masses alone; the rulers need not be bound by it. Indeed, it would be absurd if they were, since the truths proclaimed by religion were "a pious fraud." As Ronald Bailey, science correspondent for Reason magazine points out, "Neoconservatives are pro-religion even though they themselves may not be believers."
"Secular society in their view is the worst possible thing,'' Drury says, because it leads to individualism, liberalism, and relativism, precisely those traits that may promote dissent that in turn could dangerously weaken society's ability to cope with external threats. Bailey argues that it is this firm belief in the political utility of religion as an "opiate of the masses" that helps explain why secular Jews like Kristol in 'Commentary' magazine and other neoconservative journals have allied themselves with the Christian Right and even taken on Darwin's theory of evolution.
Third Principle: Aggressive Nationalism Like Thomas Hobbes, Strauss believed that the inherently aggressive nature of human beings could only be restrained by a powerful nationalistic state. "Because mankind is intrinsically wicked, he has to be governed," he once wrote. "Such governance can only be established, however, when men are united ??? and they can only be united against other people."
Not surprisingly, Strauss' attitude toward foreign policy was distinctly Machiavellian. "Strauss thinks that a political order can be stable only if it is united by an external threat," Drury wrote in her book. "Following Machiavelli, he maintained that if no external threat exists then one has to be manufactured (emphases added)."
"Perpetual war, not perpetual peace, is what Straussians believe in," says Drury. The idea easily translates into, in her words, an "aggressive, belligerent foreign policy," of the kind that has been advocated by neocon groups like PNAC and AEI scholars ??? not to mention Wolfowitz and other administration hawks who have called for a world order dominated by U.S. military power. Strauss' neoconservative students see foreign policy as a means to fulfill a "national destiny" ??? a
s Irving Kristol defined it already in 1983 ??? that goes far beyond the narrow confines of a "myopic national security."
Note - This story is a compilation of excerpts from articles found in the following sources
soon enough, USA will regret what they did...they just forgot to COUNT. Sometimes it's useful. A coalition of nations all around the World are just waiting...So do like 'em. Just wait 'til america and its catholic crusade go too far for Mahomet's followers (this is how we spell the Prohet's name in Europe).
I'm sad, worried and not in position of making any sarcasm regardless to what's gonna happen.
Just asking - what IS the official U.S. reason for this war as of today? It's been spun at least three different ways to counter news that completely discredits the previous Reason.
I think they've basically boiled it down to:
CUZ WE SAID SO, FUCKERS![/b]
A bewildered nation looks on briefly, and then goes back to the Talladega Fuck A Goat In The Ass 500....
LOL, probably the most succinct explanation I've read - and definately the funniest.
RE: Leo Strauss, The Power of Nightmares covered this so well that the BBC showed this three hour, three-part series twice in the space of about 2 months. I was hoping that it might get shown in the U.S.(cue laughter), but looks like it will get a DVD release. Find it, watch it. Sheds a little light on the early uses of Straussian ideology, i.e. the Cold War ("that 'rock', mister President, is actually a Soviet Laszer Gun capable of taking out our satellites"), and how Islamic fundamentalists used similar methods of utilising fear to manipulate the population and gain influence in the Middle East.
soon enough, USA will regret what they did...they just forgot to COUNT. Sometimes it's useful. A coalition of nations all around the World are just waiting...So do like 'em. Just wait 'til america and its catholic crusade go too far for Mahomet's followers (this is how we spell the Prohet's name in Europe).
I'm sad, worried and not in position of making any sarcasm regardless to what's gonna happen.
MODERATION OF THE EXTREMIST[/b] we live like lost children Voice 2: Little sister, we???re not a pretty sight. The river and the misery continue. We are powerless. There is no negation that does not affirm itself elsewhere. TODAY I'M SLEEPING.[/b] ...it was difficult to die and he had doubts about NOTHING
Arundhati Roy: January 16 speech to the opening plenary of the World Social Forum in Mumbai, ???The New American Century.??? (here.)
I suggest we choose by some means two of the major corporations that are profiting from the destruction of Iraq. We could then list every project they are involved in. We could locate their offices in every city and every country across the world. We could go after them. We could shut them down. It's a question of bringing our collective wisdom and experience of past struggles to bear on a single target. It's a question of the desire to win. The Project for the New American Century seeks to perpetuate inequity and establish American hegemony at any price, even if it's apocalyptic. The World Social Forum demands justice and survival. For these reasons, we must consider ourselves at war.
ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS[/b]
Boeing Aside from 747s, Boeing makes "smart" bombs, F-15 fighters, and Apache helicopters. Boeing has paid tens of millions in fines for selling flawed parts that led to thousands of unnecessary landings and at least one fatal crash and has been plagued by scandals connected to the company???s influence-peddling. CEO: Harry C. Stonecipher Military contracts 2004: $17.1 billion Major campaign contributions in 2004: $312,595 (defense related)
Lockheed Martin The world's #1 military contractor, responsible for the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes, F-16, F/A-22 fighter jet, and Javelin missiles. They've also made millions through insider trading, falsifying accounts, and bribing officials. CEO: Vance D. Coffman Military contracts 2004: $20.7 billion Campaign contributions in 2004: $1.78 million (defense related)
Northrop Grumman Makers of the B-2 stealth bomber. They're dogged by scandals-from bribing Saudi princes to botching the training of the Iraqi National Army to the tune of $48 million. CEO: Ronald Sugar Military contracts 2004: $11.9 billion Campaign contributions in 2004: $1.68 million (defense related)
General Dynamics General Dynamics makes traditional F-16 jets, Abrams tanks, and Trident subs. With contracts in the billions. CEO: Nicholas D. Chabraja Military contracts 2004: $9.6 billion Campaign contributions in 2004: $1.42 million (defense related)
Raytheon Raytheon means "light from the gods." Makers of "Bunker Buster" bombs, Tomahawk and Patriot missiles. CEO: William H. Swanson Military contracts 2004: $8.5 billion Campaign contributions in 2004: $954,150 (defense related)
United Technologies United Technologies may be a Fortune 500 company, but it???s not a household name ??? and most people don???t realize that the maker of Otis elevators and Carrier air conditioners and heaters is a major military contractor. The Hartford, Connecticut-based company makes military helicopters, engines and missile systems. Its subsidiary Hamilton Sundstrand creates flight systems for both commercial and military aircrafts, while UT subsidiary Pratt & Whitney designs and manufactures engines, gas turbines and space propulsion system for military aircrafts. In 2003, United Technologies also acquired the British electronic security company Chubb Ltd. CEO: George David Military contracts 2004: $5.1 billion Campaign contributions in 2004: $788,011 (defense related)
Halliburton This company truly has a guardian angel: former Halliburton CEO and now Vice President Dick Cheney who looks out for its interests from the White House. The result? $8 billion in contracts ???rebuilding??? Iraq in 2004. CEO: David J. Lesar Military contracts 2004: $8 billion Campaign contributions in 2004: $217,199 (Oil & gas related)
General Electric Run until 2001by ???Neutron??? Jack Welch, who made it a matter of principle to lay off 10% of his workers per year, the world???s biggest company churns out plastics, aircraft engines and nuclear reactors and media spin through NBC, CNBC, Telemundo, and msnbc.com. CEO: Jeffrey R. Immelt Military contracts 2003: $2.8 billion Campaign contributions in 2004: $221,200 (defense related)
Science Applications International Corporation SAIC, awarded control of the Iraqi Media Network, was not able to spin US propaganda in Iraq and ended up being forced to withdraw. But their financial prospects remain solid as supplier of surveillance technology to US spy agencies. CEO: K.C. Dahlberg Military contracts 2004: $2.5 billion Campaign contributions in 2004: $781,410 (defense related)
CSC/ DynCorp The world's premier rent-a-cop business runs the security show in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the US-Mexico border. They also run the coca crop-dusting business in Colombia, and occasional sex trafficking sorties in Bosnia. CEO: Paul V. Lombardi Military contracts 2004: $2.4 billion
FACTS & FIGURES:[/b] ??? Amount allocated for Iraq's police and military: $3.2 billion (Congressional appropriation) ??? Amount spent on Iraq's police and military: $194 million (Congressional appropriation) ??? Amount paid to Vinnell for training Iraqi army: $48 million ??? Amount paid by Vinnell to Iraqi recruits: $70 per month ??? Salary of U.S. soldier: $1,100 to $2,500 per month ??? Salary of British commando: $3,500 per month ??? Salary of Iraqi soldier: $70 per month ??? Salary of British ex-commando working for a private military company: up to $20,000 per month ??? Salary of Nepali ex-commando working for a private military company: $1,500 per month ??? Salary of South African ex-commando working for a private military company: $1,000 per month ??? Cost of top of the line service (four armed foreign guards and two armored vehicles): $10,000 per day ??? Number of weapons ordered for Iraqi police by June 2004: 253,000 ??? Number of weapons delivered to Iraqi police by June 2004: 141,000 ??? Number of vehicles ordered for Iraqi police by June 2004: 25,000 ??? Number of vehicles delivered to Iraqi police by June 2004: 8,500 ??? Number of body armor suits ordered for Iraqi police by June 2004: 174,000 ??? Number of body armor suits delivered to Iraqi police by June 2004: 40,000 ??? Number of radios ordered for Iraqi police by June 2004: 57,000 ??? Number of radios delivered to Iraqi police by June 2004: 2,500 Fee charged by Aegis Defence Services for overseeing private military contractors in Iraq: $293 million ??? Years of experience of Aegis Defence Services in Iraq: 0 ??? Years of experience of Aegis Defence Services overseeing private military contractors elsewhere: 0 ??? Number of financial statements published by Aegis Defence Services: 0
Halliburton Energy Services 6900 Arctic Blvd Anchorage, AK
Baroid (Halliburton) 6900 Arctic Blvd Anchorage, AK
Sperry-Sun (Halliburton) 5631 Silverado Way #G Anchorage, AK
Dyncorp 8711 Beachwood Dr Anchorage, AK
Halliburton Energy Services 1429 Minnie St. Fairbanks, AK
Kellogg Bown & Root/Optimum Group 10 Inverness Ceneter Pkwy Ste 120 Birmingham, AL
Dyncorp 301 R
andolph Ave Se Huntsville, AL
Brown & Root Services 12832 Stemley Road, Aldot Division 4 Lincoln, AL
Kellogg Brown & Root/Ciba Geigy Rd & Hwy 43 North McIntosh, AL
Kellogg Brown & Root 2970 Cottage Hill Road Mobile, AL
Computer Sciences Corporation 201 Technacenter Dr Montgomery, AL
Baroid (Halliburton) 7778 Dauphine Island Pkwy Theodore, AL
Bechtel 5651 West Talavi Blvd. Glendale, AZ
Bechtel Corp 1880 E Morten Ave Phoenix, AZ
Bechtel Corp 4041 N Central Ave Phoenix, AZ
Dyncorp Aerospace Technology 2730 E. Sky Harbor Blvd. Phoenix, AZ
Baroid (Halliburton) 3820 E 4th St Tucson, AZ
Csc-Dyncorp 2100 East Grand Avenue El Segundo, CA
Computer Science Corporation 2100 E Grand Ave El Segundo, CA
Dyncorp West Region Office 3855 Avocado Blvd La Mesa, CA
Bechtel Corp 16700 Valley View Ave La Mirada, CA
Dyncorp Inc. 44073 Sierra Hwy Lancaster, CA
Dyncorp 11200 Lexington Dr Los Alamitos, CA
Bechtel Corp 707 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA
Bechtel 2840 Howe Road, Suite E Martinez, CA
Bechtel Corp 2840 Howe Rd Martinez, CA
Computer Sciences Corporation 1900 Garden Rd Monterrey, CA
Dyncorp 2727 Hamner Ave Norco, CA
Brown & Root Services 790 E Colorado Blvd Ste 600 Pasadena, CA
Brown & Root/Mgmt & Svcs 790 E. Colorado Blvd., Ste. 600 Pasadena, CA
Dyncorp Information Systems 3310 El Camino Ave Sacramento, CA
Bechtel 1230 Columbia St., Suite 400 San Diego, CA
Brown & Root Services Corporation Naval Statio Bldg 118b San Diego, CA
Computer Sciences Corporation 4045 Hancock St San Diego, CA
Computer Sciences Corporation 9305 Lightwave Ave San Diego, CA
Dyncorp 4025 Hancock St San Diego, CA
Dyncorp BKD Operation 8996 Miramar Rd San Diego, CA
Bechtel Corporate Headquarters 50 Beale Street San Fransisco, CA
Bechtel Group Incorporated 50 Beale St San Fransisco, CA
Bechtel Infrastructure Incorporated 50 Beale St San Fransisco, CA
Halliburton Energy Services 3445 N. Marksheffel Rd. Colorado Springs, CO
Computer Sciences Corporation 1250 Academy Park Loop Colorado Springs, CO
Dyncorp 1115 Elkton Dr Colorado Springs, CO
Dyncorp Information Systems 985 Space Center Dr Colorado Springs, CO
Halliburton Energy Services 410 17th St., Ste. 600 Denver, CO
Dyncorp 303 E 17th Ave Denver, CO
Dyncorp Inc. 2525 S Dayton Way Denver, CO
Computer Sciences Corporation 1726 Cole Blvd Golden, CO
Dyncorp Inc. 1711 Illinois St Golden, CO
Dyncorp 143 Union Blvd Lakewood, CO
Computer Sciences Corporation 55 Hartland St Hartford, CT
FACTS & FIGURES:[/b] ??? Amount allocated for Iraq's police and military: $3.2 billion (Congressional appropriation) ??? Amount spent on Iraq's police and military: $194 million (Congressional appropriation) ??? Amount paid to Vinnell for training Iraqi army: $48 million ??? Amount paid by Vinnell to Iraqi recruits: $70 per month ??? Salary of U.S. soldier: $1,100 to $2,500 per month ??? Salary of British commando: $3,500 per month ??? Salary of Iraqi soldier: $70 per month ??? Salary of British ex-commando working for a private military company: up to $20,000 per month ??? Salary of Nepali ex-commando working for a private military company: $1,500 per month ??? Salary of South African ex-commando working for a private military company: $1,000 per month ??? Cost of top of the line service (four armed foreign guards and two armored vehicles): $10,000 per day ??? Number of weapons ordered for Iraqi police by June 2004: 253,000 ??? Number of weapons delivered to Iraqi police by June 2004: 141,000 ??? Number of vehicles ordered for Iraqi police by June 2004: 25,000 ??? Number of vehicles delivered to Iraqi police by June 2004: 8,500 ??? Number of body armor suits ordered for Iraqi police by June 2004: 174,000 ??? Number of body armor suits delivered to Iraqi police by June 2004: 40,000 ??? Number of radios ordered for Iraqi police by June 2004: 57,000 ??? Number of radios delivered to Iraqi police by June 2004: 2,500 Fee charged by Aegis Defence Services for overseeing private military contractors in Iraq: $293 million ??? Years of experience of Aegis Defence Services in Iraq: 0 ??? Years of experience of Aegis Defence Services overseeing private military contractors elsewhere: 0 ??? Number of financial statements published by Aegis Defence Services: 0
Comments
I don't know....I set fire to my neighbors lawn cuz his crab grass was almost to my fence. Isn't that OK?????
At least you didn't send your children to your neighbors yard and set them on fire to burn the carb grass.
100%
It's like needing media published evidence to tell me the sky is blue 3 years after I already looked out the window.
http://www.newamericancentury.org/
This website is for the think tank behind much of current US policy and there are documents from pre-9/11 which clearly articulate an intention to invade Iraq.
When we first hear about something it is news to us and I think this thread is important. I think if people are learning something through reading this thread then bravo--it is important to help citizens know the facts.
Markus
http://americaforsale.org/mt/archives/cat_pnac.phprom:
November 24, 2004
THE STRAUSSIAN IDEOLOGY OF WASHINGTON'S NEO-CONSERVATIVES
We live in a world increasingly shaped by Leo Strauss, a controversial philosopher who died in 1973. Although generally unknown to the wider population, Strauss has been one of the two or three most important intellectual influences on the conservative worldview now ascendant in George W. Bush's Washington. Eager to get the lowdown on White House thinking, editors at the New York Times, the Boston Globe and Le Monde have had journalists pore over Strauss's work and trace his disciples' affiliations. The New Yorker's Seymour Hersh has even found a contingent of Straussians doing intelligence work for the Pentagon. Yet while the extent of Strauss's influence is wide, his writings are frequently obscure, and his legacy is hotly disputed by admirers and critics alike. Certainly, Strauss was no ordinary Republican idea-maker: Steeped in ancient philosophy, he had dark forebodings about democracy, religion, technology, and nearly everything else that can claim the allegiance of the contemporary conservative (or liberal, for that matter).
Strauss is a popular figure among the neoconservatives. Adherents of his ideas include prominent figures both within and outside the administration. They include 'Weekly Standard' editor William Kristol; his father and indeed the godfather of the neoconservative movement, Irving Kristol; Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, Stephen Cambone, a number of senior fellows at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) (home to former Defense Policy Board chairman Richard Perle and Lynne Cheney), and Gary Schmitt, the director of the influential Project for the New American Century (PNAC), which is chaired by Kristol the Younger. The Bush administration's Straussians also include Pentagon officials Paul Wolfowitz and Abram Shulsky, who studied (and doctored) under Strauss at the University of Chicago, and the bioethics adviser Leon Kass, a colleague at Chicago.
Strauss' philosophy is hardly incidental to the strategy and mindset adopted by these men ??? as is obvious in Shulsky's 1999 essay titled "Leo Strauss and the World of Intelligence (By Which We Do Not Mean Nous)" (in Greek philosophy the term "nous" denotes the highest form of rationality). As Hersh notes in his article, Shulsky and his co-author Schmitt "criticize America's intelligence community for its failure to appreciate the duplicitous nature of the regimes it deals with, its susceptibility to social-science notions of proof, and its inability to cope with deliberate concealment." They argued that Strauss's idea of hidden meaning, "alerts one to the possibility that political life may be closely linked to deception. Indeed, it suggests that deception is the norm in political life, and the hope, to say nothing of the expectation, of establishing a politics that can dispense with it is the exception."
What would you do if you wanted to topple Saddam Hussein, but your intelligence agencies couldn't find the evidence to justify a war?
A follower of Leo Strauss may just hire the "right" kind of men to get the job done ??? people with the intellect, acuity, and, if necessary, the political commitment, polemical skills, and, above all, the imagination to find the evidence that career intelligence officers could not detect.
The "right" man for Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, suggests Seymour Hersh in his New Yorker article entitled 'Selective Intelligence,' was Abram Shulsky, director of the Office of Special Plans (OSP) ??? an agency created specifically to find the evidence of WMDs and/or links with Al Qaeda, piece it together, and clinch the case for the invasion of Iraq.
First Principle: Deception
It's hardly surprising Strauss is so popular in an administration obsessed with secrecy, especially when it comes to matters of foreign policy. Not only did Strauss have few qualms about using deception in politics, he saw it as a necessity. While professing deep respect for American democracy, Strauss believed that societies should be hierarchical ??? divided between an elite who should lead, and the masses who should follow. But unlike fellow elitists like Plato, he was less concerned with the moral character of these leaders. According to Shadia Drury, who teaches politics at the University of Calgary, Strauss believed that "those who are fit to rule are those who realize there is no morality and that there is only one natural right ??? the right of the superior to rule over the inferior."
This dichotomy requires "perpetual deception" between the rulers and the ruled, according to Drury. Robert Locke, another Strauss analyst says,"The people are told what they need to know and no more." While the elite few are capable of absorbing the absence of any moral truth, Strauss thought, the masses could not cope. If exposed to the absence of absolute truth, they would quickly fall into nihilism or anarchy, according to Drury, author of 'Leo Strauss and the American Right' (St. Martin's 1999).
Second Principle: Power of Religion
According to Drury, Strauss had a "huge contempt" for secular democracy. Nazism, he believed, was a nihilistic reaction to the irreligious and liberal nature of the Weimar Republic. Among other neoconservatives, Irving Kristol has long argued for a much greater role for religion in the public sphere, even suggesting that the Founding Fathers of the American Republic made a major mistake by insisting on the separation of church and state. And why? Because Strauss viewed religion as absolutely essential in order to impose moral law on the masses who otherwise would be out of control.
At the same time, he stressed that religion was for the masses alone; the rulers need not be bound by it. Indeed, it would be absurd if they were, since the truths proclaimed by religion were "a pious fraud." As Ronald Bailey, science correspondent for Reason magazine points out, "Neoconservatives are pro-religion even though they themselves may not be believers."
"Secular society in their view is the worst possible thing,'' Drury says, because it leads to individualism, liberalism, and relativism, precisely those traits that may promote dissent that in turn could dangerously weaken society's ability to cope with external threats. Bailey argues that it is this firm belief in the political utility of religion as an "opiate of the masses" that helps explain why secular Jews like Kristol in 'Commentary' magazine and other neoconservative journals have allied themselves with the Christian Right and even taken on Darwin's theory of evolution.
Third Principle: Aggressive Nationalism
Like Thomas Hobbes, Strauss believed that the inherently aggressive nature of human beings could only be restrained by a powerful nationalistic state. "Because mankind is intrinsically wicked, he has to be governed," he once wrote. "Such governance can only be established, however, when men are united ??? and they can only be united against other people."
Not surprisingly, Strauss' attitude toward foreign policy was distinctly Machiavellian. "Strauss thinks that a political order can be stable only if it is united by an external threat," Drury wrote in her book. "Following Machiavelli, he maintained that if no external threat exists then one has to be manufactured (emphases added)."
"Perpetual war, not perpetual peace, is what Straussians believe in," says Drury. The idea easily translates into, in her words, an "aggressive, belligerent foreign policy," of the kind that has been advocated by neocon groups like PNAC and AEI scholars ??? not to mention Wolfowitz and other administration hawks who have called for a world order dominated by U.S. military power. Strauss' neoconservative students see foreign policy as a means to fulfill a "national destiny" ??? a s Irving Kristol defined it already in 1983 ??? that goes far beyond the narrow confines of a "myopic national security."
Note - This story is a compilation of excerpts from articles found in the following sources
I'm sad, worried and not in position of making any sarcasm regardless to what's gonna happen.
LOL, probably the most succinct explanation I've read - and definately the funniest.
RE: Leo Strauss, The Power of Nightmares covered this so well that the BBC showed this three hour, three-part series twice in the space of about 2 months. I was hoping that it might get shown in the U.S.(cue laughter), but looks like it will get a DVD release. Find it, watch it. Sheds a little light on the early uses of Straussian ideology, i.e. the Cold War ("that 'rock', mister President, is actually a Soviet Laszer Gun capable of taking out our satellites"), and how Islamic fundamentalists used similar methods of utilising fear to manipulate the population and gain influence in the Middle East.
Cool soundtrack too.
Arundhati Roy: January 16 speech to the opening plenary of the World Social Forum in Mumbai, ???The New American Century.??? (here.)
I suggest we choose by some means two of the major corporations that are profiting from the destruction of Iraq. We could then list every project they are involved in. We could locate their offices in every city and every country across the world. We could go after them. We could shut them down. It's a question of bringing our collective wisdom and experience of past struggles to bear on a single target. It's a question of the desire to win.
The Project for the New American Century seeks to perpetuate inequity and establish American hegemony at any price, even if it's apocalyptic. The World Social Forum demands justice and survival.
For these reasons, we must consider ourselves at war.
ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS[/b]
Boeing
Aside from 747s, Boeing makes "smart" bombs, F-15 fighters, and Apache helicopters. Boeing has paid tens of millions in fines for selling flawed parts that led to thousands of unnecessary landings and at least one fatal crash and has been plagued by scandals connected to the company???s influence-peddling.
CEO: Harry C. Stonecipher
Military contracts 2004: $17.1 billion
Major campaign contributions in 2004: $312,595 (defense related)
Lockheed Martin
The world's #1 military contractor, responsible for the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes, F-16, F/A-22 fighter jet, and Javelin missiles. They've also made millions through insider trading, falsifying accounts, and bribing officials.
CEO: Vance D. Coffman
Military contracts 2004: $20.7 billion
Campaign contributions in 2004: $1.78 million (defense related)
Northrop Grumman
Makers of the B-2 stealth bomber. They're dogged by scandals-from bribing Saudi princes to botching the training of the Iraqi National Army to the tune of $48 million.
CEO: Ronald Sugar
Military contracts 2004: $11.9 billion
Campaign contributions in 2004: $1.68 million (defense related)
General Dynamics
General Dynamics makes traditional F-16 jets, Abrams tanks, and Trident subs. With contracts in the billions.
CEO: Nicholas D. Chabraja
Military contracts 2004: $9.6 billion
Campaign contributions in 2004: $1.42 million (defense related)
Raytheon
Raytheon means "light from the gods." Makers of "Bunker Buster" bombs, Tomahawk and Patriot missiles.
CEO: William H. Swanson
Military contracts 2004: $8.5 billion
Campaign contributions in 2004: $954,150 (defense related)
United Technologies
United Technologies may be a Fortune 500 company, but it???s not a household name ??? and most people don???t realize that the maker of Otis elevators and Carrier air conditioners and heaters is a major military contractor. The Hartford, Connecticut-based company makes military helicopters, engines and missile systems. Its subsidiary Hamilton Sundstrand creates flight systems for both commercial and military aircrafts, while UT subsidiary Pratt & Whitney designs and manufactures engines, gas turbines and space propulsion system for military aircrafts. In 2003, United Technologies also acquired the British electronic security company Chubb Ltd.
CEO: George David
Military contracts 2004: $5.1 billion
Campaign contributions in 2004: $788,011 (defense related)
Halliburton
This company truly has a guardian angel: former Halliburton CEO and now Vice President Dick Cheney who looks out for its interests from the White House. The result? $8 billion in contracts ???rebuilding??? Iraq in 2004.
CEO: David J. Lesar
Military contracts 2004: $8 billion
Campaign contributions in 2004: $217,199 (Oil & gas related)
General Electric
Run until 2001by ???Neutron??? Jack Welch, who made it a matter of principle to lay off 10% of his workers per year, the world???s biggest company churns out plastics, aircraft engines and nuclear reactors and media spin through NBC, CNBC, Telemundo, and msnbc.com.
CEO: Jeffrey R. Immelt
Military contracts 2003: $2.8 billion
Campaign contributions in 2004: $221,200 (defense related)
Science Applications International Corporation
SAIC, awarded control of the Iraqi Media Network, was not able to spin US propaganda in Iraq and ended up being forced to withdraw. But their financial prospects remain solid as supplier of surveillance technology to US spy agencies.
CEO: K.C. Dahlberg
Military contracts 2004: $2.5 billion
Campaign contributions in 2004: $781,410 (defense related)
CSC/ DynCorp
The world's premier rent-a-cop business runs the security show in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the US-Mexico border. They also run the coca crop-dusting business in Colombia, and occasional sex trafficking sorties in Bosnia.
CEO: Paul V. Lombardi
Military contracts 2004: $2.4 billion
FACTS & FIGURES:[/b]
??? Amount allocated for Iraq's police and military: $3.2 billion (Congressional appropriation)
??? Amount spent on Iraq's police and military: $194 million (Congressional appropriation)
??? Amount paid to Vinnell for training Iraqi army: $48 million
??? Amount paid by Vinnell to Iraqi recruits: $70 per month
??? Salary of U.S. soldier: $1,100 to $2,500 per month
??? Salary of British commando: $3,500 per month
??? Salary of Iraqi soldier: $70 per month
??? Salary of British ex-commando working for a private military company: up to $20,000 per month
??? Salary of Nepali ex-commando working for a private military company: $1,500 per month
??? Salary of South African ex-commando working for a private military company: $1,000 per month
??? Cost of top of the line service (four armed foreign guards and two armored vehicles): $10,000 per day
??? Number of weapons ordered for Iraqi police by June 2004: 253,000
??? Number of weapons delivered to Iraqi police by June 2004: 141,000
??? Number of vehicles ordered for Iraqi police by June 2004: 25,000
??? Number of vehicles delivered to Iraqi police by June 2004: 8,500
??? Number of body armor suits ordered for Iraqi police by June 2004: 174,000
??? Number of body armor suits delivered to Iraqi police by June 2004: 40,000
??? Number of radios ordered for Iraqi police by June 2004: 57,000
??? Number of radios delivered to Iraqi police by June 2004: 2,500
Fee charged by Aegis Defence Services for overseeing private military contractors in Iraq: $293 million
??? Years of experience of Aegis Defence Services in Iraq: 0
??? Years of experience of Aegis Defence Services overseeing private military contractors elsewhere: 0
??? Number of financial statements published by Aegis Defence Services: 0
Halliburton Energy Services
6900 Arctic Blvd
Anchorage, AK
Baroid (Halliburton)
6900 Arctic Blvd
Anchorage, AK
Sperry-Sun (Halliburton)
5631 Silverado Way #G
Anchorage, AK
Dyncorp
8711 Beachwood Dr
Anchorage, AK
Halliburton Energy Services
1429 Minnie St.
Fairbanks, AK
Kellogg Bown & Root/Optimum Group
10 Inverness Ceneter Pkwy Ste 120
Birmingham, AL
Dyncorp
301 R andolph Ave Se
Huntsville, AL
Brown & Root Services
12832 Stemley Road, Aldot Division 4
Lincoln, AL
Kellogg Brown & Root/Ciba
Geigy Rd & Hwy 43 North
McIntosh, AL
Kellogg Brown & Root
2970 Cottage Hill Road
Mobile, AL
Computer Sciences Corporation
201 Technacenter Dr
Montgomery, AL
Baroid (Halliburton)
7778 Dauphine Island Pkwy
Theodore, AL
Bechtel
5651 West Talavi Blvd.
Glendale, AZ
Bechtel Corp
1880 E Morten Ave
Phoenix, AZ
Bechtel Corp
4041 N Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ
Dyncorp Aerospace Technology
2730 E. Sky Harbor Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ
Baroid (Halliburton)
3820 E 4th St
Tucson, AZ
Csc-Dyncorp
2100 East Grand Avenue
El Segundo, CA
Computer Science Corporation
2100 E Grand Ave
El Segundo, CA
Dyncorp West Region Office
3855 Avocado Blvd
La Mesa, CA
Bechtel Corp
16700 Valley View Ave
La Mirada, CA
Dyncorp Inc.
44073 Sierra Hwy
Lancaster, CA
Dyncorp
11200 Lexington Dr
Los Alamitos, CA
Bechtel Corp
707 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
Bechtel
2840 Howe Road, Suite E
Martinez, CA
Bechtel Corp
2840 Howe Rd
Martinez, CA
Computer Sciences Corporation
1900 Garden Rd
Monterrey, CA
Dyncorp
2727 Hamner Ave
Norco, CA
Brown & Root Services
790 E Colorado Blvd Ste 600
Pasadena, CA
Brown & Root/Mgmt & Svcs
790 E. Colorado Blvd., Ste. 600
Pasadena, CA
Dyncorp Information Systems
3310 El Camino Ave
Sacramento, CA
Bechtel
1230 Columbia St., Suite 400
San Diego, CA
Brown & Root Services Corporation
Naval Statio Bldg 118b
San Diego, CA
Computer Sciences Corporation
4045 Hancock St
San Diego, CA
Computer Sciences Corporation
9305 Lightwave Ave
San Diego, CA
Dyncorp
4025 Hancock St
San Diego, CA
Dyncorp BKD Operation
8996 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA
Bechtel Corporate Headquarters
50 Beale Street
San Fransisco, CA
Bechtel Group Incorporated
50 Beale St
San Fransisco, CA
Bechtel Infrastructure Incorporated
50 Beale St
San Fransisco, CA
Halliburton Energy Services
3445 N. Marksheffel Rd.
Colorado Springs, CO
Computer Sciences Corporation
1250 Academy Park Loop
Colorado Springs, CO
Dyncorp
1115 Elkton Dr
Colorado Springs, CO
Dyncorp Information Systems
985 Space Center Dr
Colorado Springs, CO
Halliburton Energy Services
410 17th St., Ste. 600
Denver, CO
Dyncorp
303 E 17th Ave
Denver, CO
Dyncorp Inc.
2525 S Dayton Way
Denver, CO
Computer Sciences Corporation
1726 Cole Blvd
Golden, CO
Dyncorp Inc.
1711 Illinois St
Golden, CO
Dyncorp
143 Union Blvd
Lakewood, CO
Computer Sciences Corporation
55 Hartland St
Hartford, CT
Computer Sciences Corporation
100 Winnenden Rd
Norwich, CT
Bechtel
1015 15th Street, N.W., Suite 700
Washington, D.C.
Brown & Root Services
1150 18th St. Nw, Ste. 200
Washington, DC
Carlysle Group
1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, Nw Ste. 220 South
Washington, DC
Bechtel Corp
1015 15th St Nw
Washington, DC
Bechtel Corp
1015 5th St Se # I
Washington, DC
Computer Sciences Corporation
23412 San Remo Dr
Boca Raton, FL
Dyncorp
11690 W State Road 84
Davie, FL
Dyncorp
55 Georgia Ave
Elgin AFB, FL
Bechtel
17311 Alico Center Rd.
Fort Myers, FL
Bechtel Corp
4540 Southside Blvd
Jacksonville, FL
Dyncorp
6801 Roosevelt Blvd
Jacksonville, FL
Dyncorp
8500 Westside Industrial Dr
Jacksonville, FL
Brown & Root Services
501 Sw 27th Ave, Miami-Dade Comm College
Miami, FL
Dyncorp Inc.
414 Thomas Dr
Panama City, FL
Brown & Root Services
1200 W Leonard St, Escambia City Central Bldg
Pensacola, FL
Bechtel
3910 N Us Highway 301
TAMPA, FL
Bechtel Corp
9950 Princess Palm Ave
Tampa, FL
Brown & Root Services
1631 Lafrance St Ne
Atlanta, GA
Bechtel
4016 Flowers Rd
Atlanta, GA
Computer Sciences Corporation
2 Ravinia Dr
Atlanta, GA
Dyncorp
185 Southside Industrial Pkwy Se
Atlanta, GA
Kellogg/Brown & Root Fort Benning
2079 Belko Street
Fort Benning, GA
Dyncorp
4 Falcon Dr
Peachtree City, GA
Dyncorp
2343 Camelia Ct
Savannah, GA
Dyncorp
191 Andrew Dr
Stockbriedge, GA
Computer Sciences Corporation
750 W Lake Cook Rd
Buffalo Grove, IL
Computer Sciences Corporation
225 W Washington St
Chicago, IL
Computer Sciences Corporation
125 S Wacker Dr
Chicago, IL
Computer Sciences Corporation
8 Executive Dr Ste 300
Fairview Heights, IL
Computer Sciences Corporation
1 Tower Ln
Villa Park, IL
Bechtel
8770 Commerce Park Pl
Indianapolis, IN
Computer Sciences Corporation
3500 Depauw Blvd
Indianapolis, IN
Dyncorp
6821 Pierson Dr
Indianapolis, IN
Dyncorp
200 Arco Pl
Independence, KS
Halliburton Energy Services
200 E. 1st St. #204
Wichita, KS
Brown & Root Services
Bldg 2316 Brandenburg Station Rd
Fort Knox, KY
Dyncorp
1244 Louisville Rd
Frankfort, KY
Bechtel Equipment Operations
13157 Middletown Industrial Blvd., Ste. C
Louisville, KY
Dyncorp
630 Knox Blvd
Radcliff, KY
Halliburton Energy Services
1343 Queen Cathy Dr
Baton Rouge, LA
Baroid (Halliburton)
503 Gloria Switch Road
Lafayette, LA
Baroid (Halliburton)
110 Capitol Dr. Ste. 100
Lafayette, LA
Halliburton Energy Services
110 Capital Dr Ste 200
Lafayette, LA
Baroid (Halliburton)
601 Poydras St #1500 Pan Am Bldg
New Orleans, LA
Baroid Plant (Halliburton)
8000 Jourdan Road
New Orleans, LA
Bechtel
451 D St
Boston, MA
Bechtel
1 Meeting House Rd
Chelmsford, MA
Dyncorp
10 Willard St
Quincy, MA
Dyncorp
110 W Squantum St
Quincy, MA
Bechtel Corp
70 INNERBELT RD,
Somerville, MA
Computer Sciences Corporation
3465 Box Hill Corporate Center Dr
Abingdon, MD
Bechtel
300 W Lexington St
Baltimore, MD
Dyncorp
6480 Dobbin Rd
Columbia, MD
Computer Sciences Corporation
3 West Ln
Elkton, MD
Bechtel
5275 Westview Drive
Frederick, MD
Computer Sciences Corporation
7471 Candlewood Rd
Hanover, MD
Computer Sciences Corporation
7900 Harkins Rd
Lanham, MD
Computer Sciences Corporation
15245 Shady Grove Rd
Rockville, MD
Bechtel Corp
2367 Congress St
Portland, ME
Bechtel Inc.
4612 44th St Se
Grand Rapids, MI
Dyncorp
1225 Cooper St
Jefferson City, MO
Computer Sciences Corporation
301 W 11th St
Kansas City, MO
Computer Sciences Corporation
6360 I 55 N, Jackson
Jackson, MS
Dyncorp
365 Shop St
Jackson, MS
Halliburton Energy Services
2725 H wy 11n, Industrial Park
Laurel, MS
Bechtel Corp
1130 Kildaire Farm Rd
Cary, NC
Computer Sciences Corporation
2815 Coliseum Centre Dr
Charlotte, NC
Dyncorp Laboratories
4909 S Alston Ave
Durham, NC
Dyncorp
101 Southcenter Ct
Morrisville, NC
Dyncorp
2501 Aerial Center Pkwy
Morrisville, NC
Kellogg Brown & Root/Wake
3810 Falls Of Neuse Rd., Ste. D
Raleigh, NC
Dyncorp
87 Airport Rd
Concord, NH
Computer Sciences Corporation
100 Decadon Dr
Egg Harbor Township, NJ
Computer Sciences Corporation
501 Scarborough Dr
Egg Harbor Township, NJ
Computer Sciences Corporation
301 Harper Dr
Moorestown, NJ
Computer Sciences Corporation
2 Commerce Dr
Moorestown, NJ
Bechtel Corp
5 W Passaic St
Rochelle Park, NJ
Bechtel Corp
275 Hartz Way
Secaucus, NJ
Computer Sciences Corporation
300 Executive Dr Ste 300
West Orange, NJ
Dyncorp RTS
2617 Saint Andrews Ct
Alamogordo, NM
Baroid
2220 1st St. Nw
Albuquerque, NM
Dyncorp
1131 11th St
Holloman AFB, NM
Dyncorp HSD
2004 Chaves Ct
Holloman AFB, NM
Bechtel
3900 Paradise Rd
Las Vegas, NV
Bechtel
2621 Losee Road
North Las Vegas, NV
Computer Sciences Corporation
800 N Pearl St Ste 1
Albany, NY
Bechtel
21 East 40th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY
Bechtel Corp
21 E 40th St
New York, NY
Computer Sciences Corporation
103 E 125th St
New York, NY
Computer Sciences Corporation
200 Park Ave
New York, NY
Computer Sciences Corporation
37 E 28th St
New York, NY
Computer Sciences Corporation
255 E 5th St Ste 2210
Cincinnati, OH
Computer Sciences Corporation
5885 Landerbrook Dr
Cleveland, OH
Dyncorp
3040 Prentice Dr
Dayton, OH
Computer Sciences Corporation
2600 Paramount Pl
Fairborn, OH
Dyncorp
3040 Presidential Dr
Fairborn, OH
Computer Sciences Corporation
1238 Ronald St
Vandalia, OH
Computer Sciences Corporation
999 Pine Ave Se
Warren, OH
Dyncorp
9266 Meridian Way
West Chester, OH
Bechtel Corp
20922 N Triple Xxx Rd
Luther, OK
Halliburton Energy Services
210 Park Ave Ste 2000
Oklahoma City, OK
Computer Sciences Corporation
3000 United Founders Blvd
Oklahoma City, OK
Halliburton Energy Services
601 S Boulder Ave Ste 300
Tulsa, OK
Bechtel
8401 Ne Cascades Pkwy
Portland, OR
Bechtel Corp
1510 Valley Center Pkwy
Bethlehem, PA
Nuclear Utility Services Laboratory
5350 Campbells Run Road
Pittsburgh, PA
Bechtel Corp
2630 Liberty Ave
Pittsburgh, PA
Bechtel Corp
2304 Salem Dr
Pittsburgh, PA
Dyncorp
221 3rd St
Newport, RI
Bechtel Corp
2578 E Stone Dr
Kingsport, TN
Dyncorp
4550 Swinnea Rd
Memphis, TN
Bechtel
100 Union Valley Road
Oak Ridge, TN
Dyncorp Information Systerms LLC
104 S Jefferson St
Shelbyville, TN
Brown & Root Services
505 East Huntland Drive #220
Austin, TX
Brown & Root Services
7000 Cameron Road
Austin, TX
Bechtel Corp
2800 S I H 35
Austin, TX
Bechtel Inc.
2319 Westoak Dr
Austin, TX
Dyncorp
2060 Luna Rd
Carrollton, TX
Halliburton Energy Services
555 N. Carancahue, Ste. 775
Corpus Christi, TX
Brown & Root Services
1444 Oak Lawn #100
Dallas, TX
Bechtel Corp
5429 Lbj Fwy
Dallas, TX
Bechtel Corp
5429 LYNDON B JOHNSON FWY,
Dallas, TX
Bechtel Corp
1300 W Mockingbird Ln Lbby
Dallas, TX
Halliburton Energy Services
1100 Everman Road
Fort Worth, TX
Dyncorp
6500 WEST FWY STE 600,
Fort Worth, TX
Halliburton Energy Services
500 Throckmorton St. Ste 1110
Forth Worth, TX
Bechtel
3000 Post Oak Blvd.
Houston, TX
Halliburton Company
5 Houston Center, 1401 Mckinney, Ste. 2400
Houston, TX
Halliburton
9950 Westpark
Houston, TX
Computer Sciences Corporation
18333 Egret Bay Blvd
Houston, TX
Brown & Root Services
7520 Mainland Dr
San Antoio, TX
Halliburton Energy Services
8610 N New Braunfels Energy Plaza Ii, Ste. 614
San Antonio, TX
Computer Sciences Corporation
4606 Centerview
San Antonio, TX
Kellogg Brown & Root/Union Carbide
Hwy 185 North
Seadrift, TX
Bechtel Corp
960 Levoy Dr
Salt Lake City, UT
Dyncorp
5536 S 1900 W
Salt Lake City, UT
Dyncorp Inc.
2242 W North Temple
Salt Lake City, UT
Dyncorp Inc.
2150 W 700 N
Salt Lake City, UT
Csc-Dyncorp
6101 Stevenson Avenue
Alexandria, VA
Dyncorp
2550 Huntington Ave
Alexandria, VA
Dyncorp I & ET
6101 Stevenson Ave
Alexandria, VA
Brown & Root Services
1550 Wilson Blvd Ste 400
Arlington, VA
Brown & Root Services
1611 North Kent St Ste 508
Arlington, VA
Source for facts and figures please.
Dan