The battle for the neoconservative soul |
Robert Kagan has long had a knack for capturing public attention with bold pronouncements about American foreign policy. In 1996, together with William Kristol, he published an essay in Foreign Affairs called “Toward A Neo-Reaganite Foreign Policy” that chided the Clinton administration for insufficient martial vigor and argued that the Pentagon budget should be doubled. As a charter member of the Project for the New American Century and a regular contributor to the Weekly Standard, Kagan became an eloquent champion of the George W. Bush administration’s Iraq war.
Now, in an article in the Atlantic, Kagan has once more created a stir – this time by arguing that the Trump administration, far from solidifying American power, has irrevocably undermined it by prosecuting a failed war against Iran.
“There will be no return to the status quo ante, no ultimate American triumph that will undo or overcome the harm done,” Kagan wrote. The war has not only strengthened Iran’s position – new reports indicate that it retains a majority of its missiles forces – but also endangers Israel. On the news show PBS Kagan observed, “This war has the potential of ending in a very disastrous way for Israel precisely........