Neocon Regime Change

Extracted Attributes

• Origin

  1970s, United States

• Core Philosophy

  Promotion of democracy and national interest through military means

• Common Criticisms

  Aggressive militarism, neocolonialism, and nation-building

• Intellectual Root

  Commentary magazine, edited by Norman Podhoretz

• Peak Influence Period

  2001-2009 (George W. Bush administration)

Timeline

• Neoconservatism emerges in the U.S. among liberal hawks disenchanted with the Democratic Party. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1970-01-01

• Paul Wolfowitz proposes the 'Wolfowitz Doctrine,' asserting the U.S. right to crush threats to its interests. (Source: The Week)

  1992-01-01

• Neoconservative pundits sign an open letter to President Clinton urging the removal of Saddam Hussein from power. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1998-02-19

• The invasion of Iraq begins, marking a peak application of neocon regime change policy. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2003-03-20

• Predicted rejection of Neocon Regime Change in favor of a new Trump doctrine and the settlement of the Russia-Ukraine War. (Source: Document 5bce0809-68e1-42ae-bd57-caef72a9db47)

  2026-01-01

Neoconservatism

Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement that combines features of traditional political and social conservatism with individualism and a qualified endorsement of free markets along with the assertive promotion of democracy and national interest including through military means. It began in the United States during the 1970s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and 1960s counterculture. Many adherents of neoconservatism became politically influential during Republican presidential administrations from the 1960s to the 2000s, peaking in influence during the presidency of George W. Bush, when they played a major role in promoting and planning the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Prominent neoconservatives in the Bush administration included Paul Wolfowitz, Elliott Abrams, Richard Perle, Paul Bremer, and Douglas Feith. Although U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had not self-identified as neoconservatives, they worked closely alongside neoconservative officials in designing key aspects of the Bush administration's foreign policy; especially in their support for Israel, promotion of American influence in the Arab world and launching the war on terror. The Bush administration's domestic and foreign policies were heavily influenced by major ideologues affiliated with neoconservatism, such as Bernard Lewis, Lulu Schwartz, Richard and Daniel Pipes, David Horowitz, and Robert Kagan. Critics of neoconservatism have used the term to describe foreign policy war hawks who support aggressive militarism or neocolonialism. Historically speaking, the term neoconservative refers to a group of Trotskyist academics from New York who moved from the anti-Stalinist left to conservatism during the 1960s and 1970s. The movement had its intellectual roots in the magazine Commentary, edited by Norman Podhoretz, after they spoke out against the moral relativism of the New Left, and in that way helped define the movement.

Web Search Results

• The rise of the neocons | The Week

  As a candidate, George W. Bush adopted the neocons' domestic agenda—he called it "compassionate conservatism." His foreign policy goals, however, ran counter to theirs. Bush spoke of a "humble" America and derided "nation building." In contrast, the neocons called for America to become an "unapologetic, idealistic, assertive" force for democracy throughout the world. Throughout the '90s, the neocons had called loudly for "change of regime" in Iraq—they were furious that the first President Bush had left Saddam Hussein in power after the Gulf War. America, they said, should take an aggressive new role in the Middle East to oppose Islamic fanaticism and make the world safer. The neocon Project for the New American Century conceded that this policy would have to be advanced slowly, "absent [...] He quickly adopted much of the neoconservative foreign policy agenda as his own. In the "Bush doctrine," the president asserted that the U.S. had the right to reach into other countries to crush threats to American interests. The doctrine was first proposed by Wolfowitz in 1992. For the neocons, toppling Iraq was an important statement to governments throughout the world who harbored Islamic terrorists; it was the second battle (after Afghanistan) in a long-term "World War" against Islamic fascism. It's unclear how far Bush plans to follow the neocon prescription, which also calls for ousting undemocratic regimes in Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. "We're going to get criticized for being an imperial power anyway," says William Kristol, "so you might as well make sure that the good guys [...] The neocons claimed their first major political victory with the presidency of Ronald Reagan. His willingness to use American might around the globe and many of his domestic policies jibed with neoconservatism. Though Reagan himself was not a neocon, many of his advisors were, including U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Perle, and Assistant Secretaries of State Paul Wolfowitz and Elliot Abrams (Podhoretz's son-in-law). The neocons' influence waned with the election of George H.W. Bush, a so-called realist who did not share the neocons' grand dreams of remaking the world. But while they were out of power during the first Bush and the Clinton presidencies, the neocons built a powerful intellectual infrastructure. With funding from wealthy patrons like

• Neoconservatism - Wikipedia

  Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement that combines features of traditional political and social conservatism with individualism and a qualified endorsement of free markets along with the assertive promotion of democracy and national interest including through military means. It began in the United States during the 1970s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the Democratic Party "Democratic Party (United States)") along with the growing New Left and 1960s counterculture. [...] > [Traditional autocrats] do not disturb the habitual rhythms of work and leisure, habitual places of residence, habitual patterns of family and personal relations. Because the miseries of traditional life are familiar, they are bearable to ordinary people who, growing up in the society, learn to cope. > [Revolutionary Communist regimes] claim jurisdiction over the whole life of the society and make demands for change that so violate internalized values and habits that inhabitants flee by the tens of thousands. [...] Within a few years of the Gulf War in Iraq, many neoconservatives were endorsing the ousting of Saddam Hussein. On 19 February 1998, an open letter to President Clinton was published, signed by dozens of pundits, many identified with neoconservatism and later related groups such as the Project for the New American Century, urging decisive action to remove Saddam from power. Neoconservatives were also members of the so-called "Blue Team "Blue Team (U.S. politics)")", which argued for a confrontational policy toward the People's Republic of China (the communist government of mainland China) and for strong military and diplomatic endorsement of the Republic of China (also known as Taiwan), as they believed that China will be a threat to the United States in the future.

• Neoconservatism: The Biography of a Movement - YouTube

  regimes like south korea so the neoconservatives saw this at the time as a change and i explored that in my book um what justin came to point out and um his history certainly describes this part of it um in if you go back into the early and mid 70s um there was certainly a a in a spousal of the ideas of democracy by a leading neoconservative group coalition for a democratic majority that is the the democrats of the 1970s had in fact strongly espoused democracy and so you know i i come to see this as as a uh democracy as an issue which is uh on on which the movement is inconsistent and people on all sides of debates in the 70s and 80s are quite inconsistent because when you look at right-wing regimes that supported the united states like iran in the 70s like the philippines south korea uh [...] like iran in the 70s like the philippines south korea uh samosas nicaragua the neoconservative position was let's not push too hard for democracy and then in the late 80s they came to change and they changed because particularly in the philippines they came to see that dictatorships could become so corrupt that it could open the way for a communist insurgency so and and on the other side of the debate um uh it's true that um that liberal democrats were were quite um forthright in proposing democratic change for dictatorial regimes and and certainly less assertive in espousing the cause of democracy in eastern europe so i see this as a as a issue on which no side of the political spectrum was could quite overcome the contradictions now let me i want to turn to what i think are two [...] because if you go back to the 70s to the late 70s in in the carter administration you will find a the frequent critique of jimmy carter the liberal democrat that he had pushed too hard for democratic change with some dictatorial governments notably and most importantly the shah of iran and also samosa in nicaragua so in the view of paul wolfowitz and some other neoconservatives in the reagan administration like eliot abrams this was a change and the the f the um reluctance to push for democracy with with dictators in the 70s had been put in theoretical and conceptual terms by another leading neoconservative gene kirkpatrick and that the united states was in some way pushing or being unfair to anti-communist dictators or dictatorial regimes like south korea so the neoconservatives saw this

• "Neocon smear": MAGA rejects pure isolationism after Maduro capture

  The reaction to Trump's attack on Venezuela suggests that many of his supporters are open to limited, decisive action — especially in the Western Hemisphere. The more fraught question for MAGA is how Trump's vision for an open-ended U.S. role in "running" Venezuela fits within the bounds of "America First." Driving the news: "MAGA loves it. MAGA loves what I'm doing. MAGA loves everything I do," Trump told NBC News in an interview in which he denied that the U.S. is "at war" with Venezuela. "MAGA is me. MAGA loves everything I do, and I love everything I do, too." What they're saying: Conversations with MAGA operatives and media figures reveal varying degrees of comfort with regime change, a concept that became politically toxic after the Iraq War. [...] Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who will have a major role overseeing Venezuela for the foreseeable future, told NBC's "Meet the Press" that "the first steps are securing what's in the national interest of the United States." "No more drug trafficking. No more Iran, Hezbollah presence there. No more using the oil industry to enrich all our adversaries around the world," he continued. What to watch: Even among supporters of Maduro's capture, there are limits to how far Trump should go — especially as he moves on to threatening other Latin American leaders.

• Neo-Conservatism - Political Ideologies In Action - LibGuides

  ## Quick Description Neoconservatism (commonly shortened to neocon) is a political movement born in the United States during the 1960s among conservative-leaning Democrats who became disenchanted with the party's foreign policy. The term "neoconservative" refers to those who made the ideological journey from the anti-Stalinist Left to the camp of American conservatism. Neoconservatives typically advocate the promotion of democracy and American national interest in international affairs, including by means of military force and are known for espousing disdain for communism and for political radicalism. ## Books at Crossett Library