Is the Neocon Dream Dead? by Christopher Orlet

These are hard days for the neocons. There are defections left and right (well, mostly right). Those who remain on board seem as wobbly as Kate Moss after an all-night coke binge. Last month Francis Fukuyama -- always an irresolute neocon -- formally severed all ties: "Neoconservatism, as both a political symbol and a body of thought, has evolved into something I can no longer support." At home the Venerable Buckley pronounced the Iraq War a lost cause. Andrew Sullivan offered a mea culpa to his readers in Time. ("The shock of 9/11 provoked an understandable but still mistaken over-estimation of the risks we faced.") Abroad, the Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections gave critics more ammo. Given the choice in a free and open election, Palestinians opted for a terrorist organization. Iraq, the cliche-mongering press reminded us, "teetered on the brink of civil war." To some it appears the neoconservative moment is over.