Volume 134, Issue 5
Rants and Raves
By Clare Huston
An infinite number of points of view can be found on the continuum between the dovish and the hawkish. The same can be said for the continuum between isolationism and internationalism.
Some hawks, I'm sure, were secretly hoping that 9/11 or something like it would happen. Others may have proposed similar staged scenarios that could be used to manufacture the consent of the Public. We know, for instance, that the Gulf of Tonkin incident was staged. This is not speculation; it is a declassified fact. Of course the cynical idea in this case is to minimize the damage while maximizing the reaction and support (so 9/11 may not be the best example).
Moderate hawks may take 9/11 as an example of what happens when the hegemon relaxes its grip or closes its eyes. Internationalists might take such an event as proof that there is always a need for an armed super-sovereignty...
No need to mention the isolationist pacifists; they live in the woods and eat berries.
Somewhere in the middle of these spectra (and many others), lies sensible and surprisingly uncharted area.
The shrill left and flag-waving right have cornered themselves into philosophically untenable, knee-jerk positions. Both sides are involved in reactive chicken and egg dialectic against each other.
With everyone so entrenched in black and white philosophies, how can we fix this political quandry. The great opportunity for change and improvement is squandered.