http://www.antiwar.com/frank/?articleid=9247July 5, 2006
Hillary May Be Presidential Material, After All
On Iraq and Israel, she's a perfect neocon by Joshua Frank
There really is no way of getting around it. Sen. Hillary Clinton may well be future presidential material. From Manhattan to Hollywood, Hillary Clinton is pocketing enormous amounts of cash for her reelection campaign. Yet, Hillary is facing what seems to be fierce opposition from within her own party, as well as from third parties here in New York. The main reason candidates have signed up to challenge Hillary is her position, er, non-position on the disgraceful "war on terror."
Hillary, in a letter to constituents last November, expressed her belief that the war in Iraq shouldn't be "open-ended" but was clear that she would never "pull out of Iraq immediately." She wrote that she wouldn't accept any timetable for withdrawal and won't even embrace a "redeployment" of U.S. troops along the lines of Rep. John Murtha.
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http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/10/hillary-clinton-fooled-again-or-neo-conned/Hillary Clinton: Fooled Again or Neo-Conned?
by Donna Saggia / October 11th, 2007
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The ABC’s of the neocon agenda
At first glance, the neocon agenda for the Middle East appears to be based on three transparent convictions:
The US has a duty to promote democracy around the world, using its unrivaled power if necessary. Since the Middle East is a region of despotic Muslims, democratic transformation must begin there. And, since Israel is the only democratic outpost in the region, we must protect Israel’s right to defend itself.
But if we read between the lines, where the neocon agenda really lies, we can break the code with a few simple substitutions:
A. for “promote democracy around the world” substitute establish free markets; for “unrivaled power” substitute preemptive military force;
B. for “despotic Muslims” substitute Islamic terrorists; for “democratic transformation” substitute regime change;
C. for “Israel’s right to defend itself” substitute the right to continue the military occupation of Palestine and bomb Lebanon, Syria, and Iran if necessary.
The deciphered neocon agenda thus reads:
The United States has the duty to establish free markets around the world, and to do so by preemptive military force if necessary. The Middle East is a hotbed of Islamic terrorism and needs to undergo regime change in order for free markets to survive. Israel’s aggressive use of military force was successful at containing Muslim terrorists for almost 40 years and is a shining example of how democracy can be spread throughout the entire region.
Hillary Clinton and the neocon agenda — how to “negotiate” like a neocon
That the neocon agenda places Israel’s security in such a prominent position, and that Hillary Clinton is on board with that agenda, have been evident for many years. The neocon perspective sees Israel as a valiant little nation defending itself against a Muslim monolith. It’s the David versus Goliath myth, with a twist: neocons also see the US as vulnerable to that same Goliath. National Review’s Larry Kudlow summed it up nicely: “Israel is doing the Lord’s work. They are defending their own homeland and very existence, but they are also defending America’s homeland as our frontline democratic ally in the Middle East.”
To the neocon mind, the fate of the US is tied to the survival of Israel.
Although the right-wing talking heads have been slow to see Hillary’s inner neocon, there are signs that some of the neocon elite are becoming very comfortable with her foreign policy positions. They see her foreign policy goals as being very consistent with their own, and Clinton’s vigilant defense of Israel’s security bears this out.
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