COVERING FOR THE NEO-CONS

(Via Atrios)

Sam Rosenfeld at TAPPED notes that IVO H.DAALDER of Brookings tries to shift the blame for Iraq away from the neo-cons in this article:

Conventional wisdom has it that this was a neoconservative war—and that a return to a greater sense of realism is the first step out of the mess. In fact, though, it was hard-core realists—those who put their faith in power, especially military power, and ignore history, culture, and local circumstance—who devised and conducted this war, not wooly-headed neocons.

[SNIP]

But this conventional wisdom is wrong. The Bush administration isn't a neoconservative administration. Its foreign policy isn't a neoconservative foreign policy. And the Iraq War isn't a neoconservative war.

[SNIP]

Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, and George Bush are assertive
nationalists, not neocons, and it is these four people who bear responsibility for the war and its conduct.

In reality, both Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz signed the 1998 PNAC later to Pres. Clinton urging:

In the near term, this means a willingness to undertake military action as diplomacy is clearly failing. In the long term, it means removing Saddam Hussein and his regime from power. That now needs to become the aim of American foreign policy.

They were joined by Richard Perle, Elliot Abrams, John Bolton, Paula J. Dobriansky, Richard Armitage, Zalmay Khalilzad and Peter Rodman. Here are some of the roles they played in the criminal Bush regime:

Richard Perle, Member, Defense Policy Board, Department of Defense, 1987-2004; Chairman, 2001-2003

Elliott Abrams served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Near East and North African Affairs since December 2002.

John Bolton's entrée into the administration of George W. Bush began with the Florida vote recount during the 2000 presidential elections. Working closely with his former boss James Baker, Bolton worked to block recount efforts. According to the Wall Street Journal (July 19, 2002), Bolton's "most memorable moment came after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a halt to the recount, when Mr. Bolton strode into a Tallahassee library, where the count was still going on, and declared: 'I'm with the Bush-Cheney team, and I'm here to stop the count'."
Said Vice President-elect Dick Cheney at the time: "People ask what [job] John should get. My answer is, anything he wants." President Bush nominated Bolton to serve as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security affairs, which the Senate confirmed by a vote of 57-43.

Paula J. Dobriansky Under Secretary, Democracy and Global AffairsTerm of Appointment: 05/01/2001 to present

Richard Lee Armitage Deputy Secretary of State, Term of Appointment: 03/29/2001 to 02/22/2005

Zalmay Khalilzad was U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005 and also served as Special Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan. Before becoming Ambassador to Afghanistan, he served at the National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Islamic Outreach and Southwest Asia Initiatives, and prior to that as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Southwest Asia, Near East, and North African Affairs. He also has been a Special Presidential Envoy and Ambassador at Large for the Free Iraqis. Dr. Khalilzad headed the Bush-Cheney transition team for the Department of Defense and has been a Counselor to Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld.

Peter W. Rodman Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, Department of Defense (2001-2007)