Firmin DeBrabander: How the Neocons Misread Machiavelli

How the Neocons Misread Machiavelli
Power Politics Betrayed

By FIRMIN DeBRABANDER

It is said that the now notorious Neo-Cons owe much to that dark prince of political theory, Machiavelli. Indeed, they invoked classic Machiavellian arguments in lobbying for military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq: we must bring the war to the terrorists' doorstep instead of waiting for them to visit us; we must be martially aggressive to reassert our power and economic independence; we must reinforce the image, tarnished after 9-11, that we are a nation not to be provoked. And yet, while the Neo-Cons now assert that we must stubbornly remain in Iraq for many, many years to come, Machiavelli would most certainly call the troops home. For, this faltering campaign--coupled with the growing disaster in Afghanistan--offends his principles gravely.

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