Neoconservatism

Neoconservatism (also referred to as NeoCon) is a branch of conservatism originating in the United States during the 1960s that favors a broadly interventionist foreign policy. He's usually much more defined by his foreign policy than his domestic policy - NeoCon can fall into a number of groups or camps regarding domestic affairs, and will oftentimes "sell" his vote on a domestic issue in order to buy someone else's vote on one of his foreign policy proposals. Neoconservatism typically advocates the promotion of democracy and interventionism in international affairs, including peace through strength (by means of military force), and is known for espousing disdain for communism and other forms of     political radicalism. Culturally, most NeoCons are right-leaning, usually being pro-life among other things, but still liberal on certain issues. However, there exists a large fraction of much more culturally liberal politicians who advocate for neoconservative foreign policy, often called Liberal Hawks, who tend to overlap with the Third Way  branch of liberalism.

[[File:Cball-US.png]] The United States [[File:RepubUS.png]]
The idea of the US and The West as a promoter of freedom and democracy through militaristic means has existed since the early 20th century and was popularized after the end of WWII with the defeat of the Axis Powers. However, the term "neoconservatism" wasn't coined until the 1960s during the midst of the Vietnam War.

Between the 1950's and the 1960's, future NeoCons endorsed the Civil Rights Movement, racial integration, and the movement of Martin Luther King Jr. Also, during this time, there was widespread support among future NeoCons (who were classified as Liberals at the time) for widespread military action to prevent a  communist takeover in North Vietnam.

The initial Neoconservative movement was brought forward by the repudiation of the Cold War and the "New Politics" of the new and Progressive American "New Left", which NeoCons believed was too close to the counterculture running rampant in the United States at the time and too alienated from the majority of the American population. The "New Left" which the NeoCons were dissatisfied with supported/believed in some radical aspects such as "Black Power", which accused white Liberals and northern Jews of hypocrisy on integration and of supporting supposed Settler Colonialism during the Israeli-Palestine conflict during the late 1960's. Finally, they were most unsettled by the  New Left's "anti-anti communism", which during the mid-to-late 1960's that included outspoken support of  Marxist–Leninist policies. Many were particularly alarmed by what they saw as antisemitism stemming from "Black Power" communities in the New Left.

As the policies of the New Left made the Democrats increasingly leftist, these intellectuals became disillusioned with President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society domestic programs. The neoconservatives then rejected the counter-cultural New Left and what they considered Anti-Americanism in the  non-interventionism of activism against the Vietnam War. After the anti-war faction took control of the party in 1972 and nominated George McGovern, the Democrats among them endorsed Washington Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson instead for his unsuccessful 1972 and 1976 campaigns for president.

A theory of neoconservative foreign policy during the 1970s was criticizing the foreign policy of Jimmy Carter, which endorsed détente with the Soviet Union. During the 1990s, neoconservatives were once again opposed to the foreign policy establishment, both during the Republican Administration of President George H. W. Bush and that of his  Democratic successor, President Bill Clinton. Many critics charged that the neoconservatives lost their influence as a result of the end of the Marxist Soviet Union.

After the decision of George H. W. Bush to leave Saddam Hussein in power after the first Iraq War in 1991, many neoconservatives considered this policy a betrayal of democratic principles. During the early 2000's, the presidency of George W. Bush did not initially show strong endorsement of the neoconservative idea. This, however, changed dramatically as a result of the 9/11 attacks. During Bush's State of the Union speech of January 2002, he named Iraq,  Iran, and  North Korea states that "constitute an axis of evil" and "pose a grave and growing danger". The Bush Doctrine of preemptive war was stated explicitly in the National Security Council text, "National Security Strategy of the United States" that was published in September of 2002. It stated, "We must deter and defend against the threat before it is unleashed (...) even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy's attack. (...) The United States will, if necessary, act preemptively". The Bush Doctrine was greeted with an extremely positive reception by many neoconservatives. By 2010, U.S. forces had switched from combat to a training role in Iraq and they left in 2011.

Since Trump took office, neoconservatives have supported the Trump administration's hawkish approach towards  Iran and  Venezuela, while opposing the administration's withdrawal of troops from  Syria and diplomatic outreach to  North Korea.

[[File:Conservative_Posadism.png]] Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He was Chief of Staff of the US Army during the 1930s, and he played a prominent role in 5 wars and major conflicts throughout his lifetime; The US occupation of Veracruz during the Mexican Revolution, the Philippine-American War, World War I, Pacific Theater during WWII, and the Korean War. When the US colony/protectorate Commonwealth of the Philippines achieved semi-independent status in 1935, MacArthur was assigned the role of field marshall and supervised the creation of the Philippine Army. MacArthur would later play a leading role in the Philippines campaign (1944-1945) the American, Mexican, Australian, and Filipino campaign to defeat and expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines during World War II. After Japan's surrender following the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, MacArthur oversaw the Allied Military Occupation of Japan as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, a position he had been assigned by President  Harry S. Truman. The Allied Occupation of Japan marked the first time in history Japan had been occupied by a foreign power. The occupation would see Japan transforming from a military dictatorship to a parliamentary democracy, strongly aligned with US interests for decades to come. At MacArthur's insistence, Emperor Hirohito would remain on the imperial throne without being charged for any war crimes. However, the new American-written constitution, ensured that the emperor's theoretically vast powers became strictly limited by law. He was also involved in granting immunity to the war criminal and microbiologist Shirō Ishii who was the director of Unit 731, a biological warfare unit that had engaged in human experimentation, which resulted in the deaths of over 10,000 Chinese and Russian civilians and prisoners of war. During the Korean War, MacArthur was put in charge of the US-led coalition of UN troops and drove the invading  North Korean troops back toward the Chinese border. In November 1950 China  intervened in the conflict and sent troops acrossed the North Korean border driving the U.S. troops back into  South Korea. MacArthur then asked President Truman for permission to bomb communist China. Truman refused this request and removed MacArthur from his command for insubordination.

[[File:HenryKissinger.png]] Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and  Gerald Ford (1969-1974, 1974-1977). A Jewish refugee who fled  Nazi Germany with his family in 1938 to  the US where he was drafted into the US army in 1943. Kissinger was assigned to the military intelligence sector of the 84th Infantry Division and came to see combat in the division as the US-allied forces advanced into Germany, the country he and his family had fled from. Kissinger was eventually reassigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC), where he became a CIC Special Agent assigned to tracking down Gestapo officers and other saboteurs, for which he was awarded the Bronze Star. After his service in the US army in WWII, Kissinger would come to play an important role in shaping US foreign policy during the Cold War.

Henry Kissinger played an important role in ending US involvement in the Vietnam War. Kissinger was very skeptical of US involvement in the war as it seemed near impossible to find an agreement that would suit both the Communists of North Vietnam and the US-backed government of  South Vietnam.

When he came into office as National Security Advisor under President Richard Nixon in 1969, Kissinger favored a negotiating strategy under which the US and North Vietnam would sign an armistice and agree to pull their troops out of South Vietnam while the South Vietnamese government and  the Viet Cong were to agree to a coalition government. However, because of the conflict of interest between Nixon and Kissinger, and the North and South Vietnamese governments, US involvement in the Vietnam War would continue until the mid-1970s. Henry Kissinger along with Vietnamese communist revolutionary Lê Đức Thọ was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1973, for their work in negotiating the ceasefires contained in the Paris Peace Accords on "Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam." However, Thọ rejected the award as he argued that peace had not been achieved, and after the Fall of Saigon Kissinger attempted the return his award as well.

Henry Kissinger is perhaps most known for his contributions to US-China Relations which helped the People's Republic of China's current rise as a superpower. The motive for the diplomatic outreach to communist China had its ground in the Sino-Soviet Split that happened in the 1950s-1960s because of ideological differences between Mao Zedong and   Khrushchev. The US government under Nixon sought to exploit this rift between the two largest communist countries to advance its own geopolitical agenda.

Kissinger made two trips to China in July and October 1971 (the first of which was made in secret) to confer with Premier Zhou Enlai, which resulted in the withdrawal of US troops from Taiwan, and the recognition of the PRC on the UN Security Council at expense of  the Republic of China's representation at the UN. His trips paved the way for the groundbreaking 1972 summit between Nixon, Zhou, and Mao, as well as the formalization of relations between the two countries, ending over two years of diplomatic isolation and mutual hostility.

Henry Kissinger has continued to act as a mediator between the US and China to this day. He was one of the few prominent US politicians who opposed imposing sanctions on China in the wake of the Tiananmen Massacre of 1989.

Henry Kissinger is infamous for his support for anti-communist dictatorships to stop the spread of communism. As National Security Advisor under Nixon, he supported Pakistani dictator, General Yahya Khan, in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Kissinger actively participated in the  CIA's destabilization and sabotage of Chilean Socialist Party member  Salvador Allende's presidential campaign and presidency through various coup attempts, elections interference, and sanctions that would result in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état and General  Augusto Pinochet's rise to power.

As Secretary of the State under President Gerald Ford, he supported the Argentine Military dictator Jorge Rafael Videla's Dirty War against left-wing opposition and backed Indonesian dictator and President  Suharto's invasion of East Timor and its subsequent genocide. Kissinger was also actively involved in negotiations regarding the Rhodesian Bush War. Kissinger, along with South Africa's Prime Minister B.J. Vorster, pressured Rhodesian Prime Minister  Ian Smith to hasten the transition to black majority rule in  Rhodesia.

Interestingly, Henry Kissinger unlike most modern-era military interventionists and neocons such as John McCain, Anthony Blinken, Samantha Power, etc have remained on friendly terms with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the 2022 Russian invasion of [[File:Cball-Ukrain