The Spectacle Blog
We may need to dust off the trophy (named by longtime American Spectator correspondent Tom Bethell) for presentation to the Weekly Standard’s editor who, in a column about the Egypt crisis, elbowed Charles Krauthammer and dissed Glenn Beck in such a way as to merit this headline from the Politico:
My friend Professor Donald Douglas has written hopefully of “Egypt’s Neoconservative Moment,” but there apparently is a split among the neocons. My own Burkean view is that Egypt’s future seems more likely to be rather paleo, if you catch my drift.
Pasadena Phil| 2.5.11 @ 8:40PM
Kristol is wedded to the neocon notion that out military should be used to spread democracy rather than efficiently protect national interests. You can't just hand freedom and democracy to people as if it comes in a box. The Egyptians only want the freedom to vote for a Sharia socia
American freedom and democracy was fought for and won by American colonists so equating all of these popular uprisings to 1776 is absurd.
Pasadena Phil| 2.5.11 @ 8:44PM
(Sorry, I didn't even hit "send" or anything else to post my unfinished comment. It's a mystery to me.) Anyway,
Kristol is wedded to the neocon notion that out military should be used to spread democracy rather than efficiently protect national interests. You can't just hand freedom and democracy to people as if it comes in a box. The Egyptians only want the freedom to vote for a Sharia socialist government. One man, one vote, one time. That is what the majority of Egyptians define as "freedom and democracy".
And it is absurd to equate all uprising across the world with the American Revolution. Ours was the exception. It inspired the French Revolution which inspired all of the communist revolutions including the Bolshevik revolution. Where did they all end up?
Kristol should know better.
Interested Conservative| 2.5.11 @ 9:44PM
I don't quite see anything objectionable in what Kristol is saying. Beck can be a bit extreme, but more than that is he's very populist. Explaining the caliphate and warning of it's reappearance are different degrees of reaction, the former being more reasonable than the latter.
I don't see much "militarism" in Kristol's comments, and take his main point in this article to be that several recent "revolutions" and dictatorships have ended very well, and led that way by serious US involvement. I see him calling for the same here.
Mike W| 2.6.11 @ 8:55AM
All of the sudden we have the pragmatical realist. In 2003 we need to rid Iraq of a tyrant, even though him being there was clearly in the USA's best interest. Now it is reversed. We should ignore the Egyptian tyrant because it is in our best interest to leave him there.
It was a bad idea to go into Iraq and it is a bad idea to intervene in Egypt.
Occam's Tool| 2.5.11 @ 10:00PM
I doubt that Egypt will go well. I expect a radical Islamic state that will need to be destroyed, as Iran will.
The only thing keeping our victories over Islamofascism from being cheap and easy is a misplaced moral fastidiousness.
Dan| 2.6.11 @ 9:50AM
Egypt is going to blow up into utter savagery.
That many mohammadens who want to go sharia will not be denied.
All of mohammadenism is becoming what we deem "more radical," because they're becoming increasingly triumphant. Yes, triumphant.
Take a good hard look at the European demographics, as Mark Steyn endlessly harps on.
Europe is going islam, and a good chunk of the readers of this website are going to live to see Europe go 30% islam, at which point, it's game, set and match.
The long ago uttered prophecy of the supposed "prophet" about "first Constantinople, then Rome," is on the historical verge of coming to pass. Mohammadens naturally see this as nothing short of vindication and validation of the message of him they deem "the prophet."
If you think what we encounter is "radical" --------------------------------- just wait and see, ----------------------- for we ain't see nothin' yet!
martin j smith| 2.6.11 @ 10:18AM
The poit is we do not know how Egypt or any other countries of the region will turn out. But you can bet they will not be displaying American or Israeli flags any time soon. This "rebellion" or " revolution" are related internal economic issues but how they will play out--what role groups that are connected to Islamic Radicalism
is not yet clear. That groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood are involved is a fact and how this and other groups maneuver and what they get should be observed very carefully for our own national security. For sure, we should shut up and keep out of these matters until at least know what is really going on. It will be time ;enough to worry.
Dai Alanye | 2.6.11 @ 12:33PM
We don't know how Egypt will turn out partly because we don't know what our government is doing behind the scenes. We know Obama came out front and shot off his stupid mouth, but we can hope that covertly our military and intelligence forces are working to encourage the Egyptian military to control matters. If necessary, we ought to be willing to spend several billions to gain that end.
To think Egypt will turn overnight into a functioning Western democracy is to hope for more than will ever be delivered. That it sets up some form of government more representative than Mubarek's, and that it favors peace and cooperation with its neighbors should be good enough for us.
Purple Lips| 2.6.11 @ 12:37PM
"We don't know how Egypt will turn out partly because we don't know what our government is doing behind the scenes."
I can imagine that the Vice President is lobbying to get Yasir Arafat a seat at the table. And Hillary is working to get the first pro-contraception/abortion feminist nominated. Stay Tuned.
Justathought| 2.9.11 @ 9:43AM
The outcome of a revolution in Egypt will end very similar to Iranian revolution in 1979. History is full of revolutions that ended in tyranny, death camps, starvation and millions of dead, the one exception being the American Revolution. Why Kristol sees the exception in this revolution is beyond me, as the circumstances are not at all comparable. I suppose Hegel had it correct when he said "The only thing we learn from history is that we never learn from history." Perhaps Bill should do a little more reading before writing.
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