Frederick Kagan, Michael O'Hanlon, and Kenneth Pollack: The Three Musketeers of Neo-Colonialism
Joseph A. Palermo
While channel surfing the other day I caught part of a panel discussion on C-SPAN where Frederick Kagan, Michael O'Hanlon, and Kenneth Pollack were offering the world their collective wisdom about the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Their joint appearance was held -- where else? -- at the American Enterprise Institute. It had all the trappings of an actual academic event, except for the fact that there was unanimity of opinion in the room that George W. Bush did the world a favor when he lied us into invading and occupying Iraq. The audience at AEI consisted of white men in business suits, most of whom admitted to having some kind of contractual corporate relationship with profiting from the occupation. There was also a smattering of Republican staffers and fellow travelers. Kagan, O'Hanlon, and Pollack held court where they outlined their belief that everything General David Petraeus has done in Iraq has been exemplary of strategic brilliance on par with the accomplishments of Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton, and MacArthur.
The hot air had barely escaped their mouths when events on the ground in Iraq contradicted everything they claimed about the great "strategic success" of the surge...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-a-palermo/frederick-kagan-michael-_b_93937.html