Monday, September 20, 2004

A small correction...

Laura Rozen posts some excerpts from a Salon interview with Sy Hersh. I find them terrifying. First off, Hersh's analysis is flawed in that back when Kissinger WAS in charge, the realpolitik managed to justify the madman theory, which brought us Pol Pot. The second point is that he refers to the "believers" in the administration as "like Trotskyists". ARE YOU EFFIN' KIDDING ME? They ARE Trotskyists. The PNAC, which drives this ridiculous policy is made up of either ex-Trotskyists or descendents of Trotskyists. Personally, I think that's why Hitchens loves them so much. It was never worldwide socialism that attracted these people to Trotsky, it was the idea of worldwide revolution. The ends changed, the means didn't. And now you can even read Hithcens describing Wolfowitz in flattering tones as a "troublesome Jeffersonian".

Which reminds me, does Hitchens even listen to himself anymore? His whole thesis in his Jefferson lectures earlier this year was that Jefferson was the worst kind of cynical pragmatist - preaching lofty democratic ideals when he wanted to impress the French, but when it came to the REAL issues of state(the projected Empire, slavery, whatever) he was perfectly happy to drop the ideals. At least that's what I got from listening to them. You can happily contradict me. Listen to them here . I think he's effin' kidding me.